Stegophilus
| Stegophilus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Trichomycteridae |
| Subfamily: | Stegophilinae |
| Genus: | Stegophilus Reinhardt, 1859[1] |
| Type species | |
| Stegophilus insidiosus Reinhardt, 1859[1]
| |
Stegophilus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes, and the subfamily Stegophilinae, the parasitic catfishes.[1] These catfishes are found in rivers in tropical South America.
Species
Stegophilus contains the following valid species:[2]
- Stegophilus insidiosus Reinhardt, 1859
- Stegophilus panzeri (Ahl, 1931)
- Stegophilus septentrionalis Myers, 1927
S. insidiosus originates from the São Francisco River basin in Brazil, S. panzeri is from the lower Amazon River basin in Brazil, and S. septentrionalis is from Orinoco River basin in Venezuela.[3] Stegophilus species grow to between 4.1–4.4 centimetres (1.6–1.7 in) SL.[4][5] S. insidiosus is a true parasite living in the gill chambers of larger fishes, including catfishes like Sorubim lima; it uses its strong teeth to bite into the gill filaments to suck the blood.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Stegophilinae". Catalog of Fishes (genus). California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Stegophilus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1418: 1–628. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Stegophilus panzeri". FishBase. July 2007 version.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Stegophilus septentrionalis". FishBase. July 2007 version.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Stegophilus insidiosus". FishBase. July 2007 version.