Scleronema mate Ferrer & Malabarba, 2020

Family:  Trichomycteridae (Pencil or parasitic catfishes), subfamily: Trichomycterinae
Max. size:  5.01 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Brazil (4 tributaries of the rio Jacuí (rio Caí, rio Pardo, rio Taquari, and rio dos Sinos), laguna dos Patos system.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 8-10; Anal soft rays: 6-7; Vertebrae: 34-35. This species is distinguished from all its congeners, except operculatum by the following characters: presence of the rounded blotches at the midlateral line as large as or smaller than opercle (vs. rounded blotches larger than opercle or absent); differs from S. operculatum by having the maxillary barbel longer than half-length of the head (vs. shorter than half-length of head); tips of the pectoral-fin rays not extending beyond the interadial membrane (vs. extending beyond interadial membrane), skin flap in the posterior margin of the opercle rounded and short (vs. skin flap pointed and long); fleshy flap at the base of the maxillary barbel, thin, restricted to the maxilla and with distal margin rounded (vs. fleshy flap located anteriorly, thick, prolonged up to the snout and with distal margin straight); caudal fin uniformly brown (vs. fin with a transversal black bar distally) (Ref. 122319).
Biology:  : Inhabits rivers and streams with sand- and gravel bottoms. In the rio Pardo basin, the species is collected syntopically with S. macanuda (Ref. 122319).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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