The following is a list of fishes present in the Colombian Magdalena River.
Contents
 |
The following is a list of fishes present in the Colombian Magdalena River.
|
Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a by and large monophyletic group at family rank. To arrive there, this family has undergone much systematic and taxonomic change. Among those fishes that remain in the Characidae for the time being are the tetras, comprising the very similar genera Hemigrammus and Hyphessobrycon, as well as a few related forms such as the cave and neon tetras. Fish of this family are important as food and also include popular aquarium fish species.
Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. In the aquarium hobby they are often referred to as bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and its allies and is often used as a catchall term for any loricariids remotely resembling that species.
The Magdalena River is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,528 kilometres (949 mi) through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as far as Honda, at the downstream base of its rapids. It flows through the Magdalena River Valley.
Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.
Pseudoplatystoma is a genus of several South American catfish species of family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the main channels and tend to stay at maximum depth, but some species can also be seen in lakes, flooded forests, and other freshwater habitats. They have robust bodies, and are important food fish. Recently, their population size has been on the drastic decline due to a variety of factors including overfishing and habitat destruction due to the construction of hydroelectric dams.
The genus Panaque contains a small number of small to medium-sized South American suckermouth armoured catfishes that are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that feed extensively on wood. In addition, algae and aufwuchs are an important part of the diet, and they use their rasping teeth to scrape this from rocks. These fish are also popular aquarium fish, where the sound of scraping as these fish forage for food is easily audible.
The New Granada sea catfish, or Cazon sea catfish is a species of catfish in the family Ariidae. It is endemic to the Atrato and Magdalena River basins in Colombia.
Cetopsorhamdia is a genus of three-barbeled catfishes native to South America.
Hoplosternum magdalenae is a species of catfish of the family Callichthyidae. It is found west of the Andes, in the Lake Maracaibo basin in Venezuela, and in the drainages of Sinu River and Magdalena River in Colombia.
Hypostomus cochliodon is a species of armored catfish native to the Paraguay and middle Paraná River basins in northern Argentina, southern Brazil and Paraguay. Initially it did not occur in the upper Paraná basin above the Guaíra Falls, but these disappeared after the construction of the Itaipu Dam, allowing this species to spread. It grows to a standard length of 23 cm (9.1 in).
Andinoacara latifrons, the platinum acara, is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes, native to the Magdalena, Atrato, Sinú, and San Juan River basins in Colombia.
Astroblepus grixalvii is a species of catfish of the family Astroblepidae. It can be found in Colombia and Ecuador.
Astroblepus homodon is a species of catfish of the family Astroblepidae. It can be found in Colombia.
Astroblepus nicefori is a species of catfish of the family Astroblepidae. It can be found of the Cauca River and the Magdalena River in Colombia.
Ancistrus caucanus is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it was at one point thought to occur in the Cauca River basin in Colombia, for which it is named, although subsequent research suggested in 2013 that it is actually native to the Magdalena River basin, whereas its congener Ancistrus vericaucanus is the species native to the Cauca. The species reaches 5.2 cm SL. It is not to be confused with the similarly named species Lasiancistrus caucanus.
Ancistrus tolima is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Magdalena River drainage, which is part of the Prado River basin in Colombia. The species reaches 7.7 cm SL. Its specific epithet is a reference to Colombia's Tolima Department, which contains the type locality of the species.
