Description:
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total):
6; Anal soft rays: 13 - 14. Body elongated, without
scales, almost covered with bony plaque, ventrally
flattened in adults. Terminal mouth has three pairs
of barbels. Lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw.
Eyes small. Reproduction: Occurs
once a year and juveniles are often seen in large
numbers in the estuary of the Amazon, in the region
of Mario. Diet: Feeds on fruits when
the forests are flooded and on the blades of macrophytes
(aquatic plants, growing in or near water that are
either emergent, submergent, or floating). Acts as
seed dispersal agent.
South America:
Amazon River basin and estuary near Cayenne, French
Guiana.
Size:
90.0cm. (36ins)
Temp:
22-26°C (71-79°F)
p.H.
6.0-7.2.
Reference:
Burgess, W.E.
1989 An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes.
A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H. Publications,
Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey (USA). 784 p. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors.
2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, version (12/2009). Le Bail, P.-Y., P. Keith
and P. Planquette
2000 Atlas des poissons d'eau douce de Guyane (tome
2, fascicule II). Publications scientifiques du Muséum
national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris: 307 p.
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