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Bernie Molnar (2) Daniel Blom (2) Chris Ralph (2) Peru Aquarium Group (1) Wolfgang Ros (2) Enrico Richter (1) Julio Endler (1) Devya Hemraj (2)

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6; Anal soft rays: 19 - 22. Distinguished from S. elongatus by having modally 9 pectoral rays; 21 anal-fin rays; 16 gill rakers; large vomerine tooth patches, almost always fused; a more robust, deeper head and body; body somewhat compressed laterally; mental barbels equal or anterior to gular apex. Differs from S. cuspicaudus in having rounded caudal fin lobes and more robust body; from S. trigonocephalus by premaxillary tooth patch length being 1.5 to 2.5 times its width; trenchantly differs from S. maniradii in having only 13-18 gill rakers. Additionally, other distinguishing characters include, pelvic fins that contact or nearly reach anal fin origin when depressed and presence of thin plates or ossicles (highly variable in shape) extending vertically on anterior lateral line in most large adults. Body shape (shape guide): elongated. This species along with Sorubim elongatus are the two most seen species in this genus. There are another three that are that bit rarer, S. trigonocephalus, S. cuspicaudus and S. maniradii. Aquarium Care: Anything large enough will fit into its mouth so you should choose tankmates carefully. Large Cichlids or Plecos would be good companions or larger Characins, but they will also co-exist with one another, so 2 or 3 individuals brought together as juveniles in a larger tank (min. 7ft x 2ft x 2ft) would also be a good choice. Diet: In the aquarium it is important to try and wean them of live food so as not too make them too dependent on it and also not forgetting the disease factor as well. They will take a variety of larger foods such as earthworms, frozen bloodworms, tablet and pellet food. You can try prawns and also frozen fish pieces such as lancefish etc. Etymology: The specific name lima: Meaning a file in Latin, refers to the ventrally exposed premaxillary tooth patch.

Lima Shovel-Nosed Catfish, Duckbill catfish

Platystoma lima, Silurus lima, Sorubim infraoculare, Platystoma luceri, Sorubim latirostris, S.luceri.

Pimelodidae

South America: The widest-ranging species, occurring in most of the major drainage basins of South America.

45.0cm. (18ins)

23-30°C (73-87°F)

6.5-7.5.

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). 2022. Sorubim lima. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Littmann, M. W. Systematic review of the neotropical shovelnose catfish genus Sorubim Cuvier (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) Zootaxa 1422: 1-29 (8 Mar. 2007) 14 plates; 42 references.
Lundberg, J.G. and M.W. Littmann, 2003. Pimelodidae (Long-whiskered catfishes). p. 432-446. 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.
ScotCat Factsheet no. 57. March 2001.