Ecology Summary - Paravandellia oxyptera

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Main Ref.	Machado, F.A. and I. Sazima, 1983
Remarks	Inhabits rivers with sandy to muddy bottom. Forages both during the day and at night seeks the gill chambers of larger fishes, especially catfishes. Enters and leaves the gill chamber during the host's ventilating movements: feeds on blood drawn from the gill filaments and may stay in the gill chamber for 1-3 min; when gorged with blood, moves to the bottom and buries itself in the sand. A single large catfish tethered on the river bank may feed thousand of these parasitic catfish over a period of up to 6 h. Large numbers of this fish may kill fishes tethered by fishermen (Ref. 40386).

Main Ref.

Machado, F.A. and I. Sazima, 1983

Remarks

Inhabits rivers with sandy to muddy bottom. Forages both during the day and at night seeks the gill chambers of larger fishes, especially catfishes. Enters and leaves the gill chamber during the host's ventilating movements: feeds on blood drawn from the gill filaments and may stay in the gill chamber for 1-3 min; when gorged with blood, moves to the bottom and buries itself in the sand. A single large catfish tethered on the river bank may feed thousand of these parasitic catfish over a period of up to 6 h. Large numbers of this fish may kill fishes tethered by fishermen (Ref. 40386).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Paravandellia oxyptera may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Soft Bottom
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type
Feeding type Ref.
Feeding habit	feeding on a host (parasite)
Feeding habit Ref.

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items
Ref.

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