Sturisomatichthys

Sturisomatichthys toni leigh

Sturisomatichthys ( Latin: " sturio " = sturgeon " soma" body = Gr. " Ichthys " = fish) is a genus of catfish family of armored catfish ( Loricariidae ) and the subfamily Loricariinae. There are four species in northwestern South America in Río Caquetá, Río Cauca, in the upper Magdalena River, Río San Juan and with a kind of ( Spatuloricaria fimbriata ) in Central America in Rio Tuira, Río Bayano and in the Río Cupe in the east of Panama are common.

Features

Sturisomatichthys species are medium-sized, slender armored catfish that reach body lengths of 18-25 cm. Characteristic of the genus which is in contrast to Sturisoma little pronounced rostrum. For adult males, the outer edges of the head are covered with long, dense bristles. The belly is protected by three to four rows of bony plates. The two outer rays of the caudal fin are extended in length. The dorsal fin is long and reaches about a quarter of the standard length. The outer rays of the pectoral fins are long and protrude about a quarter to a third of the ventral fins.

Species

To date, four valid species have been described:

• Sturisomatichthys caquetae ( Fowler, 1945)
• Sturisomatichthys citurensis (Meek & Hildebrand, 1913)
• Sturisomatichthys toni leigh ( Regan, 1912)
• Sturisomatichthys tamanae ( Regan, 1912)