Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Trichomycteridae (Pencil or parasitic catfishes) > Trichomycterinae
Etymology: Trichomycterus: Greek, thrix = hair + Greek, mykter, -eros = nose (Ref. 45335); uisae: The specific epithet uisae refers to the acronym UIS corresponding to the Universidad Industrial de Santander, in the Departamento de Santander, Colombia. The name is used as a noun in apposition.
Eponymy: UIS is an acronym of Universidad Industrial de Santander (Departamento de Santander, Colombia), near where this catfish occurs and where some of the paratypes are housed. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 20°C - ?; 6°N - , 73°W -
South America: Colombia. Cueva El Misterio, upper Sogamoso River basin, Santander (Ref. 79018).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 79018)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Vertebrae: 35. This species has a characteristic dark bluish-gray band from the head to the origin of the dorsal fin; 5-9 opercular odontodes, and the anterior and posterior fontanels separated but connected by a narrow channel; body elongated, deeper than wide, gradually deeper from trunk toward caudal peduncle; convex dorsal profile of trunk; straight ventral profile of trunk; dorsal and ventral profiles of caudal peduncle slightly convex; thick integument with lateral cutaneous folds forming vertical rings between pectoral and anal fins in specimens preserved in alcohol; wide head, trapezoidal, and depressed in dorsal view; straight dorsal profile of head, the ventral and lateral profiles convex; eye small, black, rounded, well defined, with variable diameter, positioned dorsally on anterior half of head; subterminal mouth, the corners oriented backwards; lower lip with distinct fleshy lateral lobes; teeth conical and curved, arranged in 3-4 irregular rows on upper jaw and 3 rows on lower jaw; jaw muscles not particularly developed and not bulging from surface of head; thick branchial membranes, united to isthmus anteromedially and forming free fold across isthmus; wide gill opening; nasal and maxillary barbels surpassing base of pectoral fin; the maxillary barbel is longer than nasal barbel; the anterior nostril is surrounded by slightly raised thick integument, continuous with nasal barbel, both forming a tubular-shaped structure around nostril; the posterior nostril oriented transversally, its anterior edge delimited by thin and long flap of integument; pectoral fin rounded with i,8 rays, the first ray thin and fragile, prolonged as a long filament; dorsal-fin is rounded and located posterior to vertical through midbody, with iv,7 rays (only 2 unbranched rays are externally visible); pelvic-fin rays i,4, with a lateral splint, its origin anterior to vertical through dorsal-fin origin and its posterior edge slightly surpasses urogenital opening, the pelvic-fin bases not widely separated; anal-fin similar to dorsal fin, but smaller, with ii, 5 rays, its origin at level of last dorsal-fin ray; caudal-fin rays i, 5+6, i, caudal-fin edge slightly convex, with uppermost rays larger (Ref. 79018).
An hypogean catfish from the northeastern Andean Cordillera. The Cueva El Misterio is located at the east side of a plateau known as Mesa de los Santos, in the Municipio de los Santos. The plateau has Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and limestones of the Rosablanca Formation (Williams, 1990); reaches 1800 meters above sea level and is located on the oriental versant of the Chicamocha Canyon, in the Colombian Andes, of Santander Department. The cave, with a total of 110 m of explored passages, is isolated from the epigean stream and is oriented longitudinally with galleries formed by gentle slope tunnels and narrow passageways. The cave has small wells interconnected by reduced descending channels where water infiltration was observed. In dry months, an isolated sump pool was observed at each gallery. The bottom of each well is rocky and contains much sediment
composed chiefly of bat excrement. Cydnid bugs (Hemiptera:
Heteroptera) were found inside the wells. Diptera, crayfish
and bats were observed in the interior of the galleries (Ref. 79018).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Castellanos-Morales, C.A., 2008. Trichomycterus uisae: a new species of hypogean catfish (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from the northeastern Andean Cordillera of Colombia. Neotrop. Ichthyol. 6(3):307-314. (Ref. 79018)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00851 (0.00358 - 0.02025), b=2.93 (2.74 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
