Oh my goodness! Unless you are a Tree of Life developer, you really shouldn't be here. This page is part of our beta test site, where we develop new features for the ToL, often messing up a thing or two in the process. Please visit the official version of this page, which is available here.
Under Construction

Aspredinichthys Bleeker 1858

John P. Friel
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Containing group: Aspredinidae

Introduction

The two species placed in this genus are very similar in appearance and are most readily separated by the pattern and number of accessory mental barbels. See Mees (1977) for a key to species. This genus occurs from the Orinoco delta, through the Guianas, to the Amazon delta.

Characteristics

Diagnosis

A genus of large banjo-catfishes (up to 220 mm SL) distinguished from all other aspredinids by the following characters; dorsal hook-like processes developed on mesethmoid; hooks developed on antorbital bones; 8 pectoral-fin rays; and several pairs of accessory mental barbels present.

References

Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. 1840. Histoire naturelle des poissons. XV. Paris, XXXI + 540 pp., 34 pls.

Friel, J. 1994. A phylogenetic study of the Neotropical banjo catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) Ph.D. thesis, Duke University, Durham, NC, 256 pp.

Mees, G. F. 1987. The members of the subfamily Aspredininae, family Aspredinidae in Suriname (Pisces, Nematognathi). Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 90(2): 173-192.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Aspredinichthys filamentosus
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1995 John P. Friel
About This Page

John P. Friel
Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, Ithaca, New York, USA

Page: Tree of Life Aspredinichthys Bleeker 1858. Authored by John P. Friel. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Friel, John P. 2000. Aspredinichthys Bleeker 1858. Version 14 April 2000 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Aspredinichthys/15265/2000.04.14 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Aspredinichthys

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top