How is L052 different from Dekeyseria pulchra?

[bekateen]

Hi folks,

I'm doing a little background reading on Dekeyseria, and I have a question for you all: How is

Dekeyseria sp(l052)

different from

Dekeyseria pulchra

?

Since L052 isn't described, there are no scientific articles to look up (well, that I am aware of) for definitive character traits. The original DATZ description of L052 does not provide any enlightenment, other than to mention that some older printed sources label photos of L052 as pulchra. To this day, some websites also list L052 as synonymous with pulchra, but that is not the case here on PlanetCatfish. Furthermore, some importers, wholesalers, and LFS's sell L052 as pulchra, if that means anything (it really doesn't).

SIMILARITIES:

• Based on the original line drawings of pulchra, their color patterns are similar (alternating dark and light stripes).
• Both species co-occur along the Orinoco (although perhaps not in the exact same area, since the map occurrence records by necessity are not always precise), and they both are otherwise distributed near one-another.

DIFFERENCES:

• I can see from their CLOGs that they differ in maximum body length, but if that is the only difference, it is a risky measure to base an entire species on. This is especially true if the maximum SL for L052 is based on the size of fish in captivity (although I don't know if this is so) since captive specimens can grow larger than wild fish due to better diet and longer survival, among other reasons. Additionally, however, it's also entirely possible that the reported maximum SL for pulchra is an underestimate, if the only wild-caught specimens happened to be not-fully-grown at the time of reporting.

I've read on this site that

Dekeyseria brachyura

and pulchra may be the same species. And of course, there is also the mess between L052 and brachyura which apparently are visually distinctive but often get mixed up as species labels when fish are sold in the hobby. But of the three, brachyura is the largest, and pulchra is the smallest. So what do you know about pulchra, L052 (and perhaps brachyura) in this regard, especially if the info is newer than the material available on the web?

Thanks, Eric

[Jobro]

I believe there is only one at most two Dekyseria/Zonancistrus species. Being L52 and L168. One is more yellow than the other. I don't know of any other differences. I would love to hear more about it though.

[bekateen]

bump?

[Jools]

One has a network pattern on the head, one does not.

Jools

[bekateen]

Okay, thanks Jools. Is that what unites brachyura and pulchra?