Collected catfish

[tortelli]

Hey all, I went to a local stream, southern Brazil, and caught some catfishes..
you know.. the regular stuff, corys, plecos, and on..
can you guys help me identify these creatures?
first one is a cory

I'd go for a Scleromystax macropterus, since it hasd been described on locations not far from here.
the second one is what we call "whip tail pleco", in my area. I'd go for a Hemiloricaria.. but, which species?



and finally, this little guy here got me completely clueless..


unfortunatly, I let my camera at home, with some extra pictures I took this morning, where you can clearly see a longitudinal stripe crossing its body..

Anyway, I'm looking forward to any reply..

thanks in advace

[MatsP]

Hemiloricaria are TERRIBLY hard to identify...

--
Mats

[tortelli]

hey there Mats,
I guess you are right..
but.. it is an hemiloricaria, right?
my biggest concern is with the last critter..

[Silurus]

The last fish is a young Pimelodus of some kind, I think.

[MatsP]

It is either Hemiloricaria or Rineloricaria - they are closely related and only recently been split. Looking in the Cat-eLog, most of the Northern distribution became Hemiloricaria, and the more Southern distribution are still Rineloricaria. There were 9 new species described a year or so ago, from the Southern Brazil area (Laguna do Patos, Rio Grande do Sul), etc.

So, I think it may be Rineloricaria rather than Hemiloricaria. But even between the genus, it can be difficult to tell them apart. If you can get hold of Copeia 2008, No. 2: 333-349 by Reis & Rordrigues, it may help you identify it - I think there is a key in this document.

--
Mats

[tortelli]

Once again, you're right..
gosh, these fishes are so dumb in nature.. they won't even bother moving away when you get close to them..
most of them you can catch with your bare hands!
I live in Santa Catarina State, closer to parana border.. not rio grande do sul
it is still a cold state (for brazilian standards).. and the water is not as tropical as on northern-northeastern states

[MatsP]

These are the fish we have that are listed under the Santa Catarina state:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/se ... results=50
(Edit: That's the Loricariidae from that region, not ALL specie)

However, I have to admit that my knowledge of Southern Brazil rivers is limited, so there may be other species that SHOULD be in that category, but the river they are in isn't listed in the correct place [I've found two mistakes in the database today already].

You can have a look at the list here:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/bofw_tree.php

To understand it, the first entry is the amazon, into which "Ene", "Jurua" and "Tapajos" flow, for example. Jamanxim is a tributary of the Tapajos. [Actually, Tapajos probably should connect to "Lower Amazon" rather than the overall Amazon].

[You can go to the http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php to make your own geographical (and other) searches]

--
Mats

[tortelli]

Lets say they were caught on rio Cubatão (there's a mispelling on that list)...
And, yes, I realized that some species may occur on my area and here they are described as belonging to nearby areas.
I don't complain, it would be pretty tough to keep the information contained on this website accurate.

[Birger Amundsen]

I think you are right on the

Scleromystax macropterus

, not to many of them around, please feel fre to ship some to Norway LOL

[tortelli]

Birger.. you should see them schooling in the nature!
just amazing..
in fact.. I guess I have something for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmz2SlvBvmY
my friend filmed them.. from 5:00 on you'll you can see them in the wild!
feel invited to see them on their natural habitat
that invitation is extended to Mat also.
Yesterday I saw 8 of them schooling togheter, amazing!

Too bad Brazilian laws on exporting local wildlife are too strict..
this is definetly not a predatory action (but that's a long discussion..)

[Birger Amundsen]

Sure is something special seeing the fish in the wild

[Janne]

Will be difficult to export Scleromystax macropterus, they are in the Brazilian list of endangered species and not permitted to catch at all. For the whiptail I would go for Rineloricaria but have no clue which species, the Pimelodus if it has a stripe from head to tailfin it could belong to Pimelodella grisea complex... I often find this "species" everywhere or looking alike.

Janne

[tortelli]

Too bad the Scleromystax macropterus are forbidden.. I don't really think that the southern Brazilian states are threating it to extinction. The main problem on fish smuggling comes from northern/northeastern states, where the real beauty is!

[Proteus]

Birger.. you should see them schooling in the nature!
just amazing..
in fact.. I guess I have something for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmz2SlvBvmY
my friend filmed them.. from 5:00 on you'll you can see them in the wild!
feel invited to see them on their natural habitat
that invitation is extended to Mat also.
Yesterday I saw 8 of them schooling togheter, amazing!

Too bad Brazilian laws on exporting local wildlife are too strict..
this is definetly not a predatory action (but that's a long discussion..)

Loved the video footage!!! Any more videos like this as want to see what Rio Negro under water looks like

[tortelli]

another picture of this unitendifyed catfish
he is kind of shy! so it is being hard to take pitures of him..
and another one of my Scleromystax Macropterus, for me there is still hope it is a small Scleromystax Barbatus..


this fella here was also caught there, but some weeks before I got my hands on the scleromystax..