| Family: |
Trichomycteridae (Pencil or parasitic catfishes), subfamily: Trichomycterinae |
| Max. size: |
4.22 cm (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
benthopelagic; freshwater |
| Distribution: |
South America: Laguna Blanca basin in Catamarca, Argentina. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12-13; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 11-12; Vertebrae: 37-39. Eye covered by thin, transparent skin. Species differs from all other known members of the subfamily Trichomycterinae by the combination of its lack of both the pelvic fins and girdle, eight or nine principle dorsal fin rays, 37-39 vertebrae, 18-20 ribs on each side, the elongate body with a transversely flattened caudal peduncle, the posteriorly straight and slightly posterodorsally angled caudal fin margin, the lack of pronounced marmorated pigmentation on the body and fins, its lack of s very thick, rugose layer of fatty tissue on the body and head, the presence of a portion of the laterosensory canal system within the sphenotic, the lack of an extensive perforation of the skin surface by pores of the ampullary organs, and its maximum length. |
| Biology: |
Collected from a 0.5 m deep, small, clear water stream with a sandy bottom at an elevation of approximately 3500 m. The stomachs of two specimens contained dipteran larvae (Chironomidae and Ceratopogonidae), filamentous algae, and sand indicating that the species feeds, at least in part on autochthonous benthic macroinvertebrates (Ref. 37038). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 01 November 2020 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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