Ancistrus erinaceus
| Ancistrus erinaceus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Genus: | Ancistrus |
| Species: | A. erinaceus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ancistrus erinaceus (Valenciennes, 1840)[1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Ancistrus erinaceus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes. This catfish is kown only from its holotype which was said to be collected in Chile but this is thought likely to be an error.
Taxonomy
Ancistrus erinaceus was first formally described as Hypostomus erinaceus by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes in volume 15 of Histoire naturelle des poissons published in 1840 with its type locality given as "Chile".[1] Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes classified the genus Ancistrus in the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes, within the suckermouth armored catfish family Loricariidae.[2] It has also been classified in the tribe Ancistrini by some authorities.[3]
Etymology
Ancistrus erinaceus is classified in the genus Ancistrus, a name coined by Rudolf Kner when he proposed the genus but Kner did not explain the etymology of the name. It is thought to be from the Greek ágkistron, meaning a "fish hook" or the "hook of a spindle", a reference to the hooked odontodes on the interopercular bone. The specific name, erinaceus, means "hedgehog", also thought to be a reference to the hooked odontodes on the interopercular region.[4]
Description
Ancistrus erinaceus reaches a standard length of 7.5 cm (3.0 in).[5] Ancistrus species develop soft, bushy tentacles on the snout when sexually mature, these are better developed in the males than they are in females.[6]
Distribution and habit
Ancistrus erinaceus is known only from its holotype which Valenciennes stated was collected in Chile. No other Speciemns are known and there have been no further records. There are no other records of Ancistrus catfishes from Chile and the type locality given by Valenciennes is thought to be erroneous.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ancistrus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Hypostominae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Armbruster, J. W. and N. K. Lujan (2025). "New tribe-level classification of Hypostominae (Loricariidae) based on optimization of morphological states on DNA-based relationships, with descriptions of three new tribes and two new genera". Neotropical Ichthyology. 22 (4)): 1–32. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2024-0108.
- ↑ Christopher Scharpf (18 January 2026). "Family LORICARIIDAE: Subfamily HYPOSTOMINAE Kner 1853 (Suckermouth Catfishes or Plecos)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ancistrus erinaceus". FishBase. February 2026 version.
- ↑ "Cat-eLog LORICARIIDAE Hypostominae Ancistrus erinaceus". PlanetCatfish.com. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ↑ Carl J. Ferraris Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types". Zootaxa. 1418: 1–628.