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"Unusual" Armored Catfish
Photograph by Milton Tan
A new species of suckermouth armored catfish (pictured) has been found in Ecuador, a new study says.
DePaul University scientist Windsor Aguirre found five specimens of the odd-looking fish in 2008 in the Santa Rosa River (map) and sent them to Alabama's Auburn University for identification.
"When we first realized it was new, it wasn't particularly surprising—this family [of catfish] increases in number every year," said study leader Milton Tan, a Ph.D. student in biology at Auburn.
Instead, what interested Tan and colleagues is that the 2.8-inch-long (7-centimeter-long) species—unlike its relatives—lacks armored plates on the sides of its head.
The lack of head plates suggests the species is a "missing link" between other Cordylancistrus species and the related genus Chaetostoma, which has an unplated snout, Tan said.
The arrangement makes the new species "a really unusual fish," said Tan, who named the animal Cordylancistrus santarosensis after its home river.
"That's important, because the fish species in Ecuador are not particularly diverse, [and we wanted to] let people know [there's a fish] in Ecuador that's particularly unique and only found there."
—Christine Dell'Amore
A study on the new suckermouth armored catfish was published March 22 in the journal Zootaxa.
Published April 10, 2012
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Algae Eater
Photograph by Milton Tan
Scientists don't know much about the new catfish species, which dwells along a small, rocky river in southwestern Ecuador.
But based on its relatives, Tan suspects the species uses its so-called suckermouth (pictured) and brush-like teeth to scrape rocks for algae, likely its primary food source.
(See "New-Species Pictures: Cowboy Frog, Armored Catfish, More.")
Published April 10, 2012
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Fish in Troubled Waters?
Photograph by Milton Tan
With only a few specimens on hand, no one knows how rare the new armored catfish species is, Tan said.
But overall "we're losing biodiversity around the world at an unfortunate rate," he said. (Play National Geographic magazine's biodiversity game.)
For example, "there is small-scale gold-mining activity in the area, although I don't think it's known what the effects are on the fauna yet."
"In South America and other places where there are still undescribed species, we could lose them before we even know they're there."It's important to know what's in the rivers before biodiversity is lost forever."
More: "1,200-Plus Venomous Catfish Species Uncovered" >>
Published April 10, 2012
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More Armored Catfish Pictures: Amazon Wood-Eater >>
Photograph by Michael Goulding/Copeia
Published April 10, 2012
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