Description:
The genera Paralithoxus
has been reserected in a new paper (2018) by Lujan
et al. and redescribing L. bovallii based
on recently collected specimens from the upper Ireng
River. Paralithoxus bovallii can be diagnosed
from P. pallidimaculatus and P. surinamensis
by having an adipose fin (vs. adipose fin absent),
from P. boujardi, P. jariensis,
P. planquettei, P. raso and P.
stocki by having five or more predorsal plates
(vs. four or, rarely, three), from P. boujardi,
P. planquettei, and P. stocki by
having paired fins irregularly banded (vs. paired
fins uniformly coloured), from P. jariensis,
P. planquettei, P. raso and P.
stocki by having typically eight (rarely seven)
interdorsal plates (vs. typically seven), from P.
boujardi, P. raso and P. pallidimaculatus
by having a uniformly or mottled brown body lacking
white spots (vs. body having small, distinct white
spots in P. boujardi and P. pallidimaculatus,
or large indistinct spots in P. raso), from
P. boujardi and P. stocki by lacking
a marginal white caudal-fin band (vs. band present),
and from P. boujardi and P. stocki
by lacking enlarged odontodes on the anterodistal
margin of the pectoral-fin spines (vs. enlarged pectoral-fin
spine odontodes present on males and females). Colouration:
Mottled light to dark brown dorsum, fins indistinctly
and irregularly banded, no more than five indistinct
bands on light brown base, abdomen and ventrum of
anteromedial caudal peduncle translucent white, with
melanophores dispersed around outer margin and concentrated
around anal-fin origin, oral disc pale yellow. Aquarium
Care: Quite a demanding genera which need
pure, oxygen rich water. They need plenty of hiding
places and the aquarium to be very strongly filtered.
Diet: Insectivores that feed in their
natural habitat from insect larvae on rocks. Feed
Frozen mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and Daphnia.
They will also except tablet foods. Remarks:
Still found on some online sources as Lithoxus
bovallii.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
Ancistrus bovallii, Lithoxus
bovallii
Family:
Loricariidae
Distribution:
South America:
Ireng River basin in upper Negro River drainage, Guyana.
Type locality: The Kaat River, tributary
to the Ireng River, Upper Potaro, British Guiana.
Size:
6.0cm. (2½ins)
Temp:
23-27°c (73-81°f)
p.H.
6.0-7.5.
Reference:
Ferraris, C.J. Jr.,
2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes:
Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary
types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors.
2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, ( 08/2019 ). Lujan, NK; Armbruster, JW & Lovejoy, NR,
2018 "Multilocus phylogeny, diagnosis and generic
revision of the Guiana Shield endemic suckermouth
armored catfish tribe Lithoxini (Loricariidae: Hypostominae)"
(Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 20). Seidel, I. 2008. Back to Nature guide
to L-catfishes, Ettlingen, Germany 208 p.
Paralithoxus
bovallii
Dorsal, Lateral and Ventral view
Paralithoxus
bovallii Mouth view
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