Acanthobunocephalus
Acanthobunocephalus nicoi
John P. Friel
Introduction
Members of this genus become sexually mature at just over 16 mm standard length. They are known from only three localities and appear to berestricted to the upper Orinoco River system of Venezuela and possibly the upper Negro River system of Brazil.
Characteristics
Diagnosis
A genus of miniature fishes (less than 20 mm SL) distinguished from other aspredinids by the following characters: presence of a dorsal spinelet and rigid dorsal-spine; anteriorly expanded supraoccipital; absence of a posterior cranial fontanel; posterior cartilage of palatine absent; 2 pectoral radials; horizontal bony lamina developed only on last three centra and compound ural centrum; and absence of procurrent caudal-fin rays. Other characters not unique to this taxon but useful for identification are: reduced ornamentation of skull roof, dorsal lamina of Weberian complex, and nuchal plates; jaws equal; pectoral fin with spine and 4 rays; dorsal fin with spine and 3 rays; dorsal- and anal-fin membranes not adnate with body; dorsal- and ventral-most principal caudal rays much shorter than others, infraorbital lateralis canal truncated; lateral line truncated at approximately the level of the dorsal fin origin.
References
Friel, J. 1994. A phylogenetic study of the Neotropical banjo catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) Ph.D. thesis, Duke University, Durham, NC, 256 pp.
Friel, J. 1995. Acanthobunocephalus nicoi, a new genus and species of miniature banjo-catfish from the upper Orinoco and Casiquiare Rivers, Venezuela. (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae). Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters, 6(1): 89-95.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Acanthobunocephalus nicoi |
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| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
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| Copyright |
© 1995 John P. Friel
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About This Page
John P. Friel
Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, Ithaca, New York, USA
Page copyright © 2009 John P. Friel
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- First online 05 July 1995
- Content changed 14 April 2000
Citing this page:
Friel, John P. 2000. Acanthobunocephalus . Acanthobunocephalus nicoi . Version 14 April 2000 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Acanthobunocephalus_nicoi/15254/2000.04.14 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
