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Hypophthalmus oremaculatus Nani & Fuster de Plaza, 1947

Image contributors to this species:

Hitomi Torrico-Destre et al. 2024 (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Has no teeth in its jaws but possesses many long gill rakers that are used as a sieve for feeding on planktonic crustaceans like cladocerans, copepods and ostracods. Also feeds on debris, and other plankton. Appears to follow the plankton's vertical movements during the day. Habitat: Present in the Madre de Dios, Beni, Iténez, Madeira, Mamoré, Orthon, Yata sub-basins (Amazon Basin), and in the Paraguay sub-basin (La Plata Basin). Diet: Feeds on zooplankton (Silva & Bialetzki 2019). Because they are a filter feeder they are not really suitable for the home aquarium (Grant, Steven 2021). Etymology: The specific name oremaculatus: oris (L.), mouth; maculatus (L.), spotted, referring to two large black spots on palate that look like little teeth. Remarks: Hypophthalmus oremaculatus is assessed as Least Concern given its wide distribution and a lack of significant threats across the range. It is recommended to review the taxonomy (IUCN 2021). It is sometimes found on online searches as Hypophthalmus oreomaculatus.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Hypophthalmus oreomaculatus

Family:

Pimelodidae

Distribution:

South America: Paraná, Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo River basins (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela). Type locality: Puerto Gaboto, Rio Paraná, inferior [Argentina].

Size:

35.0cm (14ins)

Temp:

22-26°C (71-79°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.5.

Reference:

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. 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 06/2024 ).
Grant, Steven., Pims. Pimelodidae, Heptapteridae and Pseudopimelodidae Catfishes. ATS-Aquashop.de 2021 219p.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Villa-Navarro, F., DoNascimiento, C., Mojica, J.I., Rodríguez-Olarte, D., Usma, S. & Herrera-Collazos, E.E. 2021. Hypophthalmus oremaculatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.

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

Hypophthalmus oremaculatus
El Mentiroso Lagoon, Madre de Dios subbasin, Amazon Basin

Hypophthalmus oremaculatus
Dorsal view-El Mentiroso Lagoon, Madre de Dios subbasin, Amazon Basin

Hypophthalmus oremaculatus
Ventral view-El Mentiroso Lagoon, Madre de Dios subbasin, Amazon Basin

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