Description:
Vertebrae: 39 - 41. Can be differentiated by a combination
of the following characters: well defined straight
vertical bars along the side of body, longer than
those of Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum and Pseudoplatystoma
punctifer; bars connecting to, or extending to,
the dorsal region and continuing onto other side of
body; vertical bars of anterior region straight and
extending below dorsolateral dusky area; usually no
spots below lateral line, some individuals with two
or three spots; 39-41 vertebrae. Aquarium
Care: Its tank should have a shaded area
at the back such as a large branch and plants to hide
under as it is nocturnal, and also the lighting should
not be too bright. Should not be kept with any fish
that is smaller than itself and it also should be
housed in a very large tank. The best companions would
probably be large Pacu's or similar sized fish that
would not be swallowed. Provide large water changes
weekly. Diet: In their natural habitat
they eat other fish such as characins and other catfish,
they also eat freshwater crabs. In the aquarium a
diet of earthworms, freshwater fish such as trout
and also shrimp and prawns. You should only feed when
it starts looking actively for it, as they will rest
for a few days after feeding to digest their food.
Etymology: The specific name, orinocoense,
refers to the Orinoco River, Venezuela, the drainage
in which this species is endemic. Remarks:
There has been 5 new species described by Buitrago-Suárez,
U.A. and B.M. Burr in 2007, to go alongside P.
tigrinum, P.
fasciatum and P.
corruscans. These species
are P. punctifer (Castelnau), P.
reticulatumEigenmann &
Eigenmann, P. orinocoense, P. metaense,
and P.
magdaleniatum. So far P.
punctifer is the only species that has not been
accepted in some publications in print and on the
internet.Two species (P. punctifer
? and P. tigrinum) are sympatric in the Amazon
Basin, two (P. metaense and P. orinocoense)
are sympatric in the Orinoco Basin, and two others,
P. corruscans and P. reticulatum,
are sympatric in the Paraná. Pseudoplatystoma
magdaleniatum and P. fasciatum each
occur as the only species of Pseudoplatystoma
in their respective individual ranges.
Common
Name:
Orinoco Shovelnose
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Pimelodidae
Distribution:
South America:
Orinoco River basin in Venezuela.
Size:
52.5cm. (21ins)
Temp:
24-28°C (75-83°F)
p.H.
6.5-7.5.
Reference:
Buitrago-Suárez,
U.A. and B.M. Burr,
2007. Taxonomy of the catfish genus Pseudoplatystoma
Bleeker (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) with recognition
of eight species. Zootaxa 1512:1-38. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors.
2023. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, version (06/23). Grant, Steven. 2021 Pims. Pimelodidae,
Heptapteridae and Pseudopimelodidae Catfishes. ATS-Aquashop.de
2021 219p.
Pseudoplatystoma orinocoense Cano Maporal near UNELLEZ module, Apure, Venezuela
If you would like to contribute to the monthly
factsheets with an article, information or photos, please e-mail
me. You will of course be credited for your work.
If you would like to donate any denomination
of monies to the site just click the above link button. All proceeds
will go to running the site and hopefully to keep it going for a few
years yet.