Cat-eLog Right Loricariidae Right Hypostominae Right Chaetostoma  |  | 

Down Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name Chaetostoma sovichthys  Schultz, 1944
Common Name
Type Locality Near bridge over the Río San Pedro, tributary of the Río Motatán, southeast of Mene Grande, Maracaibo basin, Venezuela.
Pronunciation KATE oh STOW mah
Etymology Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, stoma = mouth. Specific epithet named in honor of and in appreciation of the support provided to Schultz by the Standard Oil Company of Venezuela (SOV), while staying as a guest at the camps of the Lago Petroleum Corporation.
Down Species Information
Size 72mm or 2.8" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification The genus Chaetostoma is not straightforward to identify, but as a general rule, the species has spines behind the gill-cover (interopercular odontodes), no plates on the abdomen, and aside from C. platyrhynchus also lack plates on the snout edge. Different from Ancistrus by not having fleshy tentacles on the snout.
Sexing The males have however a larger and broader head, slimmer ventral sides and disproportionately large pelvic fins. Perhaps the over-sized pelvic fins play a large role in the fertilization of the eggs. By inverting these over the clutch of eggs, they prevent the sperm cells being carried away by fast water current.
Down Habitat Information
Distribution South America: Lake Maracaibo, Motatán River and tributaries in Venezuela.
Lake Maracaibo (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Lake Maracaibo, Motatán (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2021.
Down Husbandry Information
Furniture Well rounded stones stacked to replicate a river bottom and provide caves.
Breeding Spawns in shallow, fast flowing water on the underneath of a flat object. Male, upside down, guards an adhesive clutch of eggs by, more or less, covering it with his body.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Down Further Information
Reference Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 94 (no. 3172), pp 292, Pl. 8 (figs. A-B).
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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Last Update 2019 Aug 30 05:58 (species record created: 2014 Aug 18 16:10)