Niobichthys is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armored catfishes, and the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos.[2] The only species in the genus is Niobichthys ferrarisi,[3] a catfish which is endemic to Venezuela. It is only known to occur in the Baria River, a tributary of the Rio Negro in Amazonas state, where it is found in rocky rapids.[1] This species reaches a standard length of 7 cm (2.8 in).[4]
| Niobichthys | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: | Hypoptopomatinae |
| Genus: | Niobichthys Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998[2] |
| Species: | N. ferrarisi |
| Binomial name | |
| Niobichthys ferrarisi Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998[3] | |
Niobichthys suffixes -ichthys, Greek for "fish", onto Niobe, a figure from Greek mythology whose children were killed by Apollo causing her to turned to stone by Zeus and moved to a mountain peak, which remained eternally wet with her tears. This is a reference to the clouds surrounding Cerra La Neblina, this species' type locality. The Specific named honors the American ichthyologist Carl J. Ferraris, Jr., co-discoverer of this species when on an expedition to the Cerr La Neblina in 1984, in recognition of his work on catfish taxonomy and Neotropical ichthyology.[5]
References
edit- 1 2 Echevarría, G. (2019). "Niobichthys ferrarisi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T118043099A118043109. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T118043099A118043109.en. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
- 1 2 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Hypoptopomatinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
- 1 2 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Niobichthys". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Niobichthys ferrarisi". FishBase. February 2026 version.
- ↑ Christopher Scarpf (28 February 2026). "Family LORICARIIDAE: Subfamily HYPOPTOPOMATINAE Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1890 (Cascudinhos)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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