Kingdom Animalia Family Auchenipteridae Scientific name Auchenipterus Rank Genus | Class Actinopterygii Subfamily Auchenipterinae Phylum Chordata Order Catfish | |
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Similar Catfish, Auchenipterus nuchalis, Driftwood catfish, Trachelyopterus, Ageneiosus | ||
Auchenipterus ambyiacus catfish
Auchenipterus is a genus of driftwood catfishes (order Siluriformes).
Contents
Amblydoras auchenipterus liosomadoras sorubines y otros hora de la cena
Taxonomy
The genus is hypothesized to be monophyletic, diagonsed by the shared presence of grooves in the ventral surface of the head that accommodate adducted mental barbels. The presence of papillae on the dorsal and medial surface of the ossified maxillary barbel of mature males is also a possible synapomorphy, but in three species this cannot be confirmed as there are no adult male specimens yet discovered.
This genus contains 11 species:
Distribution
The neotropical genus Auchenipterus is widely distributed in most of the river systems east of the Andean Cordilleras. The species are found through the Orinoco River, Amazon River, and Rio de La Plata basins, and the coastal drainages of the Guianas; one species, A. menezesi, originates from the Rio Pindark-Mirim and Rio Parnaiba basins of northeastern Brazil. In some regions they are abundant enough to be commercially important.
Description
Auchenipterus species have a number of pronounced sexually dimorphic features of the head, maxillary barbels, and anal fin.