SCOTCAT.COM

your internet guide to all things catfish

Trichomycterus alternatus (Eigenmann, 1917)

Image contributors to this species:

Yann Fulliquet (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Body cross-section oval near head, gradually compressed posteriorly towards caudal fin. Body elongate with dorsal and ventral profiles slightly convex on trunk and nearly straight along caudal peduncle. Body depth approximately even along entire body, only slightly decreasing posterior to dorsal-fin origin. (Vinícius et al. 2019). Habitat: Atlantic coastal river basins, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo States, Jequitinhonha River basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Diet: Will feed on most aquarium fare such as tablet, frozen and live foods. It is an opportunistic predator that mainly feeds on insects, but also will take small crustaceans and plant material (algae and remains of phanerogams).

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Pygidium alternatum, Pygidium florense, Pygidium travassosi

Family:

Trichomycteridae

Distribution:

South America: Atlantic coastal river basins, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo States, Jequitinhonha River basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Type locality: Rio Doce, near the village Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, Brazil [20°14'41"S, 42°53'45"W].

Size:

8.0cm. (3¼ins)

Temp:

24-28°c (75-83°f.)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

Reference:

de Pínna, M.C.C. and W. Wosiacki, 2003. Trichomycteridae (pencil or parasitic catfishes). p. 270-290. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
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. 2022. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 08/2022 ).
Vinícius J. C. Reis & Mário de Pinna, The type specimens of Trichomycterus alternatus (Eigenmann, 1917) and Trichomycterus zonatus (Eigenmann, 1918), with elements for future revisionary work (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae)

Family: Trichomycteridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Trichomycterus alternatus

Trichomycterus alternatus
Head view

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.