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Remarks: This factsheet has been updated (September 2019) to facilitate the change in the genus name to Duringlanis from Centromochlus. Just recently (September 2019) due to earlier work carried out by Steven Grant (2015) a new paper was released by Bárbara B. Calegari et al whereas this species C. altae and C. romani were reclassified to a new genus, Duringlanis. As stated in this paper some species treated as Tatia and Centromochlus are assigned to genera that were not previously recognised as valid.

Perugia's Woodcat

Tatia perugiae, Centromochlus perugiae

Centromochlinae

South America: Colombia, Peru and Canelos, Ecuador

7.5cm (3ins)

26-28°c (79-83°f.)

6.5-7.5.

Body naked and relatively short head. Surface of head and the nuchal region (except the orbits and the interorbital fontanel) are covered with bony plates.The nuchal plate extends to and beyond the base of the dorsal fin spine, and the horns of the nuchal plate are curved downward and outward. The eyes are moderately large and are covered with skin.

Whitish base colour with black irregular reticulated pattern. All fins clear.

Keeping this species is not too much of a problem as long as the water is kept clean and not too alkaline with a p.H.of between 6.5 and 7.0. They do like a planted aquarium where they like to hide during the day. They also make a good show fish if showing your fish at shows is your forte, as they usually deport well in a show tank.

Internal fertilisation with the eggs deposited 24-48 hours later. Also a report on Tatia creutzbergi, (Tatia gyrina) with them placing their adhesive eggs on the underside of wood with no broodcare after the event. A few members of the Auchenipteridae family have been spawned in the hobby with a successful breeding and raising of the young of Trachelyichthys decaradiatus by Dick Thompson, a former member of The Northern Area Catfish Group (now the Catfish Study Group)

The anal fin is the key to the sexual dimorphism of this genus, if you think of the male and female of most livebearer fish (Goodeidae family) and you will not be too far away with this assumption. As you can see above the female has a normal anal fin but the males are modified into a copulatory organ with the first and second ray thickened and longer, it is thought that the male uses this to clasp the female during the spawning embrace.

In its native habitat they feed on insects, mostly ants, beetles, and mayflies and in the aquarium they will eat anything given such as frozen bloodworm which they will come out of hiding to feed on, catfish tablets, daphnia, white worm (sparingly) and any other worm-like foods.

Duringlanis: "Durin Catfish" after Durin The Deathless from the Lord of the Rings Legendarium. Durin was the first created dwarf and the name is used in allusion to the dwarf species in the genus.
perugiae: named after Albert Perugia, an Ichthyologist from Triest.

Burgess, W.E., 1989. An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes: a preliminary survey of the Siluriformes.. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2002. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, 15 August 2002.
Grant, S., 2015: Four new subgenera of Centromochlus Kner, 1858 with comments on the boundaries of some related genera (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae: Centromochlinae). Ichthyofile 3: 1–16.
Riehl, Baensch. Aquarium Atlas Photo Index 1-5.
Sarmento-Soares, Luisa Maria; Martins-Pinheiro, Ronaldo Fernando, A systematic revision of  Tatia (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae: Centromochlinae) Neotropical Ichthyology, 6(3):495- 542, 2008.

Photo Credits

© Ian Fuller @