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Kronichthys subteres Miranda-Ribeiro, 1908

Image contributors to this species:

Mario Pinheiro (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

There are three species in this genera, K. subteres Miranda-Ribeiro, 1908, K. heylandi (Boulenger, 1900), and K. lacerta (Nichols, 1919). Habitat: Kronichthys subteres Inhabits streams with rocky and sandy bottom, in places up to 0.8 m deep and with water flow up to 30 cm per second. Diet: Forages both during the day and at night. Grazes on microscopic algae, mostly diatoms and green algae growing on rocks and submersed vegetation. Occasionally takes chironomid and simuliid larvae, as well as tiny crustaceans. Before grazing on a patch with dense sediment, the fish makes wiggling head-down movements which raise sediment, to be blown away by the water current. When grazing algae off the substrate makes vigorous mouth movements, and moves by jerky movements probably related to its mouth making alternate grazing and attaching to the substrate. Leaves conspicuous grazing marks on exposed rocks. May re-graze a given spot by moving backwards. Density may reach about 1 fish per square meter in stream stretches shaded by the forest and 2.5 fish per square meter in sunny stretches. Etymology: The specific name subteres: sub (L.), less than or somewhat; teres (L.), terete (cylindrical or slightly tapering), presumably referring to its body shape.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Loricariidae

Distribution:

South America: Ribeira de Iguape River basin. Type locality: Rio Betari [Betharí], Rio Pardo, Rio Iporanga, Brazil.

Size:

10.0cm. (4ins)

Temp:

20-24°c (67-75°f)

p.H.

6.0-7.5.

IUCN Red List

Kronichthys subteres has a wide distribution in the drainage basins of the Ribeira de Iguape River, in the states of Paraná and São Paulo. It is a frequent and abundant species that inhabits streams with rocky substrate and strong currents. Although there are several conservation units in the basin, outside of them the species is subject to diffuse threats that lack monitoring. No plausible threats that could endanger its population have been identified. Thus, K. subteres was categorised as Least Concern (LC), (IUCN 2022).

Reference:

Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl, 1997. Aquarien Atlas, Band 5. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany. 1148 p.
Buck, S. and I. Sazima, 1995. An assemblage of mailed catfishes (Loricariidae) in southeastern Brazil: distribution, activity and feeding. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 6(4):325-332.
Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). 2022. Kronichthys subteres . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 02/2018 ).
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Family: Loricariidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Kronichthys subteres
Dorsal view

Kronichthys subteres
Dorsal view

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