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Pimelodella macturki Eigenmann, 1912

Image contributors to this species:

Karsten Schönherr (4) Erling Holm (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Habitat: The first four thumbnail images listed were captured in the northwestern part of Suriname in the Nickerie River. Occurs in little creeks of the estuarine part of rivers where it replaces P. cristata and P. geryi which live more upstream. The notable number of individuals caught during inventory is indicative of its gregarious behavior. In March and April, all females larger than 5.8 cm are mature. Aquarium Care: Treat as you would do with any member of the Pimelodus in that they will be predatory on small fishes in the aquarium and it is also better to keep them in small groups rather than singularly, as this will dilute the aggression. Diet: Will eat any aquarium prepared foods such as tablets, pellets, frozen and live foods. Not fussy eaters. Etymology: The specific name macturki: In honour of Michael McTurk (1843–1915, note Latinization of “Mc” to “Mac”), Commissioner for the Essequibo and Pomeroon Rivers District, British Guiana, who delivered a parcel of letters to Eigenmann during his 1908 expedition to Guyana. Remarks: Like all Pimelodella living in Guiana, the pectoral and dorsal spines are located with a poisonous mucus that can cause painful injuries.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Heptapteridae

Distribution:

South America: Approuague, Corantijn, and Nickerie River basins, and eastern coastal drainages of Suriname. Type locality: Creek in Mora Passage, British Guiana.

Size:

11.0cm. (4¼ins)

Temp:

24-28°C (75-83°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

The population of Pimelodella macturki has a wide distribution in lowlands of coastal rivers. The species is abundant with a probably stable population trend, and is reported in protected areas. Therefore, Pimelodella macturki is evaluated as Least Concern, (IUCN 2021).

Reference:

Bockmann, F.A. and G.M. Guazzelli, 2003. Heptapteridae (Heptapterids). p. 406-431. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
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. 2015. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, (11/2015).
Le Bail, P.-Y., P. Keith and P. Planquette, 2000. Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane. Tome 2, Fascicule II: Siluriformes. Collection Patrimoines Naturels 43(II): 307p. Paris: Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle.
Rodríguez-Olarte, D., DoNascimiento, CD, Taphorn, D.C., Mojica, J.I., Villa-Navarro, F. & Herrera-Collazos, E.E. 2021. Pimelodella macturki. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

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

Pimelodella macturki

Pimelodella macturki

Pimelodella macturki
Waini River, Guyana

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