Pseudostegophilus

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Pseudostegophilus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Trichomycteridae
Subfamily: Stegophilinae
Genus: Pseudostegophilus
Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889
Type species
Stegophilus nemurus
Günther, 1869
Synonyms [1]

Parastegophilus Miranda Ribeiro, 1946

Pseudostegophilus is a genus of pencil catfishes native to rivers in tropical South America. The members of this genus are obligate parasites that feed on scales and mucus of other fish.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: [2]

P. haemomyzon originates from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela while P. nemurus is found in the Amazon basin in Brazil and Peru. [3] P. haemomyzon grows to about 5.7 centimetres (2.2 in) SL. [4] P. nemurus grows to about 15.0 cm (5.9 in) TL. [5] P. nemurus is said to become attached to the gills, anal region, and fins of dead, dying, or disabled fishes. [5] P. maculatus originates from the lower Paraná and Uruguay River basins in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, while P. paulensis is from the upper Paraná River basin in Brazil. [3] The remaining Pseudostegophilus species grow to about 5.4–6.0 centimetres (2.1–2.4 inches) in length. [6] [7] P. maculatus enters the gill chamber of the catfish Luciopimelodus pati and feeds on the gills. [6]

References

  1. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Stegophilinae". Catalog of Fishes (genus). California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pseudostegophilus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa . 1418: 1–628. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  4. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pseudostegophilus haemomyzon". FishBase . July 2007 version.
  5. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pseudostegophilus nemurus". FishBase . July 2007 version.
  6. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Parastegophilus maculatus". FishBase . July 2007 version.
  7. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Parastegophilus paulensis". FishBase . July 2007 version.


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