The following is a list of fishes present in the Colombian Magdalena River.
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The following is a list of fishes present in the Colombian Magdalena River.
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Characidae, the characids or characins, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is a historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a, by and large, monophyletic group. To arrive there, this family has undergone much systematic and taxonomic change. Among those fishes remaining in the Characidae currently 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 in several regions, and also constitute a large percentage of captive freshwater 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 over 90 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.
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. The scientific species name is indicative to its looks; latifrons meaning "broad forehead" or "broad front" in Latin.
Astroblepus homodon is a species of catfish of the family Astroblepidae. It can be found in Colombia.
Carlastyanax aurocaudatus is a small species of freshwater fish in the family Characidae native to the Río Cauca in Colombia. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Carlastyanax, which was named in 1972 specifically for the species by Jacques Géry. Upon description, it was named Astyanax aurocaudatus by Carl H. Eigenmann. There has been debate concerning whether or not the genus should be recognized, but C. aurocaudatus is currently considered a valid species.
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.
Chaetostoma thomsoni is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Magdalena River basin in Colombia. The species reaches 10.1 cm in total length. It is sometimes seen in the aquarium trade, sometimes as Chaetostoma thomasi, a name which originated as a misspelling but has become relatively widely used despite being incorrect.
Farlowella yarigui is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Topón River, which is part of the middle Magdalena River basin in Colombia. It is only found in the vicinity of partially submerged vegetation and pieces of wood, with the species being absent in other microhabitats within the main channel of the Topón. It is known to occur alongside the species Astyanax caucanus, Astyanax magdalenae, Astyanax filiferus, Lasiancistrus caucanus, and Roeboides dayi, as well as members of the genera Chaetostoma, Creagrutus, Hemibrycon, and Sturisoma. The species reaches 11.2 cm in standard length and is believed to be a facultative air-breather.
Astyanax caucanus is a small species of freshwater fish only found in Colombia. While little research exists regarding its ecological habits, such as diet and mating practices, its environment preferences are known to include marshy lowlands, and it easily lives in sympatry with various other fish species in the Cauca and Magdalena river basins. It is not known to share a habitat with any other species of Astyanax, but has a noted phyletic relationship to a group of congeners including Astyanax filiferus, Astyanax stilbe, and Astyanax magdalenae.
