Firewood catfish
| Firewood catfish | |
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| File:Firewood catfish.jpg | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Phylum: | |
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| Genus: |
Sorubimichthys
Bleeker, 1862
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| Species: |
S. planiceps
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| Binomial name | |
| Sorubimichthys planiceps |
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| Synonyms | |
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The firewood catfish, Sorubimichthys planiceps, a species of South American pimelodid catfish, is the sole member of the genus Sorubimichthys. Known by locals along the Amazon Basin as peixe-lenha,[1] the firewood catfish is so called because it is of little eating value and is often dried and used for firewood.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Firewood catfish occur in the Orinoco and Amazon Basins.[3] It is normally found in whitewater high in suspended sediments.[4]
Appearance and anatomy
This species attains about 150 cm (59 in) in standard length.[3]
These fish change in appearance as they grow.[5] In adults, the upper jaw is extremely long, about one-third the length of the snout.[5] The dorsum is ash-gray with darker spots. The sides have a white band, bordered below by a dark gray or brown band. The venter is usually white with some large spots. The dorsal fin and adipose fin are spotted.[5] However, in juveniles, the snout is short and the pectoral fins are large and rounded. The white band does not appear until the fish is about 40 0m (1.6 in).[clarification needed] The full adult color pattern and fin shapes appear by at least 20 cm (8 in).[5]
Ecology
This fish is mainly nocturnal.[3] Firewood catfish are highly predatory and feed on other fish.[4]
References
- ↑ The Catfish Connection-Ronaldo Barthem and Michael Goulding pg. 38
- ↑ Sorubimichthys planiceps (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Sorubimichthys planiceps" in FishBase. February 2012 version.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
