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Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Callichthyidae (Callichthyid armored catfishes) > Callichthyinae
Etymology: Hoplosternum: Greek, hoplon = weapon + Greek, sternon = chest (Ref. 45335).

Issue
See Reis (1997) for phylogeny and Reis (1998) for detailed description.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; depth range 1 - ? m (Ref. 11225). Subtropical; 18°C - 26°C (Ref. 2060); 11°N - 37°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

South America: Most Cis-Andean South American river drainages north of Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ref. 37395). Introduced in the USA (Ref. 104645).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 16.7 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 26.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 104645); max. reported age: 4 years (Ref. 51639)

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Inhabits swamps (Ref. 11225). During the rainy season, adults consume a great quantity of chironomids associated with detritus. During the dry season, they feed mostly on terrestrial insects, micro-crustaceans, aquatic Diptera, and detritus. Absorbs a great quantity of anaerobic bacteria from the substrate (Ref. 27188). First reproduction occurs after one year (Ref. 35381). Used to be cultured commercially in Guyana (Ref. 7306). Cultured in Trinidad on a semi-commercial scale (Ref. 11225).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Reproduction begins with the rainy season (December-January). The male, at times helped by the female, builds a nest made of a cluster of mucus bubbles and vegetal matter. Responding to a nuptial parade, the female lays down her eggs (5,000 to 20,000, measuring1.8 mm in diameter) which are fertilized by sprinkling sperm previously collected in her mouth. The male guards the eggs during incubation and becomes very aggressive (Ref. 35381).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Reis, Roberto E. | Collaborators

Reis, R.E., 1997. Revision of the neotropical catfish genus Hoplosternum (Ostariophysi: Siluriformes: Callichthyidae), with the description of two new genera and three new species. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 7(3-4):299-326. (Ref. 26144)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 15 October 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: commercial

FAO - Aquaculture systems: production; ; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
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Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances

Life cycle
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Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
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Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths

Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
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Human related
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Aquaculture profiles
Strains
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Stamps, coins, misc.

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01950 (0.01418 - 0.02681), b=3.00 (2.91 - 3.09), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 2.7 ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=4; K=0.6-1.3; Fec = 5,000).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (16 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Hoplosternum littorale (Hancock, 1828)