Ernstichthys taquari Dagosta & de Pinna, 2021

Family:  Aspredinidae (Banjo catfishes), subfamily: Hoplomyzontinae
Max. size:  2.28 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Brazil.
Diagnosis:  This species is distinguished from all its congeners by the following characters: relatively narrow bilateral bony shields on dorsal and ventral series, these do not overlap or contact each other anywhere in both series (vs. adjacent shields contacting or overlapping along most or entire series; this trait also separates this species from most hoplomyzontine species except those of Hoplomyzon); with seven or eight serrations on the posterior margin of the pectoral spine (vs. 10-18); pectoral-fin spine only slightly larger than subsequent soft rays, there is a gradual transition between the spine and the rest of fin (vs. spine 25% longer or more than soft rays, leaving a large portion of protruding spine without corresponding fin web distally); differs from E. megistus by having a well-developed rictal barbel (vs. no barbel or reduced to bump); differs from E. intosus by the unbranched maxillary barbel (vs. with thread-like secondary barbels); no dentations along the anterior margin of the pectoral fin (vs. with dentations); with two pairs of stout and regularly-positioned mental barbels (vs. over 100 thread-like and uniformly distributed barbels); D i+4 (vs. i+7); A i+6 anal-fin rays (vs. viii+4); basipterygium entirely hidden in integument (vs. anterolateral arm of basipterygium exposed on the skin, forming rugose shield) (Ref. 124573).
Biology:  Collected in a white water river, with moderate water flow, over rock and sand. Its habitat is not the deep bottom of a large river, but rather a small river accessible by hand-seining. Aquatic macrophytes were present in some sites and riparian forest was well preserved; all specimens were collected in a shaded sector covered with dense vegetation and large rocks on the bottom (Ref. 124573).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.