Biologists reporting in the open-access journal Zookeys have identified a diminutive new catfish species in the waters of Rio Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, Brazil.
Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis (Silva GSC et al)
Catfish get their name from their strange elongated mouth barbels that remind of cat’s whiskers.
The new catfish, called Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis, belongs to a genus of armored catfishes native to South America.
Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis is distinguished from others species of the genus by the presence of a conspicuous ridge on the trunk posterior to the dorsal fin.
The specific name hyptiorhachis is a combination of the Greek words hyptios (supine) and rhachis (ridge).
Only about 3 – 3.5 cm in length, Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis is one of the smallest representatives of the catfish order.
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Bibliographic information: Silva GSC et al. 2013. Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis, a new catfish species from Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, southeastern Brazil (Siluriformes, Loricariidae). ZooKeys 315: 65; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.315.5307
