Scientist have discovered a new, tiny catfish species in Rio Paraíba Do Sul Basin, which belongs to a genus of armored catfishes native to South America found only in Brazil.
Scientists have discovered a new species of catfish in the waters of the Rio Paraíba Do Sul Basin. What makes this discovery all the more fascinating is the fact that it belongs to a genus of armored catfishes native to South America. It has been named Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis. These fish were named "catfish" because of their strange elongated mouth barbells that remind of cat's whiskers.
The newly discovered catfish species is only 3-3.5 cm in length making it one of the smallest catfish species existing today. Though scientists compared them to small decorative fish, they are not the smallest catfish species to be found. Species of Aspredinidae and Trichomycteridae reach sexual maturity at only 1 cm in total. The Aspredinidae catfish family is distributed throughout tropical South America and consists of over 35 species. They are nocturnal, often peaceful species that can be combined in a community tank with similar-sized fish, according to the press release.
Some of the larger catfish species include the wels catfish measuring more than 2.5 meters and weighing more than 220 pounds. These species feed on rats, mice, frogs and some aquatic birds. The bigger catfish species are fished for consumption while the smaller ones are used for decorative purposes in aquariums.
The description of the tiny new species of catfish was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
