Lithoxus
| Lithoxus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: | Hypostominae |
| Genus: | Lithoxus C. H. Eigenmann, 1910[2] |
| Species: | L. lithoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Lithoxus lithoides C. H. Eigenmann, 1912[3] | |
Lithoxus is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes.[2] The only species in the genus is Lithoxus lithoides.[3] This catfish is found in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]Lithoxus was first proposed as a genus in 1910 by the German-born American ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann when he used the name in a footnote, which has subsequently been accepted as a valid description.[2] Eigenmann published his description of L. lithoides in 1912 giving its type locality as Amatuk in Guyana.[3] Some authorities regard this genus as being within the tribe Ancistrini of the subfamily Hypostominae,[4] but Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes does not recognise tribes within the subfamily Hypostominae.[2]
In 2018, a phylogenetic study revealed that there was a deep split between Lithoxus lithoides, the type species of the genus Lithoxus, and all the other species in that genus.[5] Consequently, the genus Paralithoxus, originally proposed in 1982 as a subgenus of Lithoxus and which was synonymized with Lithoxus in 1990, was resurrected. Alongside P. boujardi, all the Lithoxus species excluding L. lithoides were moved to Paralithoxus.[6]
Lithoxus is supported as a monophyletic sister to Exastilithoxus. Together, these two genera form a well-supported clade.[7]
Etymology
[edit]Lithoxus combines lithos, which means "stone", with oxus, meaning "sharp". This is an allusion to the stone like shape of this fish and the outer edges of the pectoral fin of males having a dense covering of spines. The specific name lithoides, means "in the form of a stone", again an allusion to the stone-like shape and colour of this species.[8]
Description
[edit]Lithoxus has a wide flattened head, with a falt ventral surface. The males develop spines along the outer edge of their pectoral fins. The colour is mottled, sandy or they may be black.[9] This species reaches a standard length of 8.6 cm (3.4 in).[10]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Lithoxus is found in river darianges flowing from the Guiana Plateau in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname including the Essequibo River and the Courantyne River, it was found in the Uatumã River and the Jatapu River in Brazil, however the Uatumã River population has probably been extirpated by the construction of the Balbina Dam. This catfish is restricted to rapids.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Salvador, G.N. (2023). "Lithoxus lithoides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T164514019A164514028. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T164514019A164514028.en. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Hypostominae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Lithoxus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
- ↑ Armbruster, J. W. and N. K. Lujan (2025). "New tribe-level classification of Hypostominae (Loricariidae) based on optimization of morphological states on DNA-based relationships, with descriptions of three new tribes and two new genera". Neotropical Ichthyology. 22 (4)): 1–32. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2024-0108.
- ↑ Lujan, Nathan K; Armbruster, Jonathan W; Lovejoy, Nathan R (20 August 2018). "Multilocus phylogeny, diagnosis and generic revision of the Guiana Shield endemic suckermouth armoured catfish tribe Lithoxini (Loricariidae: Hypostominae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly025. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ↑ Rapp-Py-Daniel, Lúcia; Oliveira, Andreza S.; Bastos, Douglas A.; Ito, Priscila Madoka M.; Zuanon, Jansen; Briglia-Ferreira, Sylvio Romério (2019). "A new species of Paralithoxus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae: Ancistrini) from the highlands of Serra da Mocidade, Roraima State, Brazilian Amazon". Neotropical Ichthyology. 17 (4). doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20190041. ISSN 1982-0224.
- ↑ Nathan K Lujan; Jonathan W Armbruster; Nathan R Lovejoy (December 2018). "Multilocus phylogeny, diagnosis and generic revision of the Guiana Shield endemic suckermouth armoured catfish tribe Lithoxini (Loricariidae: Hypostominae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (4): 1169–1186. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly025.
- ↑ Christopher Scharpf (17 July 2026). "Family LORICARIIDAE: Subfamily HYPOSTOMINAE Kner 1853 (Suckermouth Catfishes or Plecos)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- ↑ Carl H. Eigenmann (1912). "The freshwater fishes of British Guiana, including a study of the ecological grouping of species, and the relation of the fauna of the plateau to that of the lowlands". Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum. 5. Published by the authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute: 1--578. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.14515.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Lothoxus lithoides". FishBase. June 2026 version.
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