Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Scoloplacidae (Spiny dwarf catfishes)
Etymology: Scoloplax: Greek, skoloplax = a thorned plate (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Schaefer, Weitzman & Britski.
Issue
Natural history observations in Sazima et al. (2000).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
South America: Amazon and Paraguay/Paraná River basins.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 2.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 36693)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Facultative air-breathing in the genus (Ref. 126274); An air-breather, inhabiting clear water streams with sandy to muddy bottom, up to 2.5 m deep with water flow up to 30 cm/sec. Forages at twilight and night, moving little and preying mostly on chironomid larvae and tiny oligochaetes. When disturbed may bury itself in the sand, diving quickly headfirst and making lateral movements with body. Hides during the day amidst the exposed root tangle and basal portions of submersed aquatic vegetation, and among plant debris on the bottom. A sample of 874 individuals (7.7-16.4 mm SL) taken at the end of the rainy season contains six sexually dimorphic males (14.0-14.6 mm SL) and several presumably adult females (12.8-16.4 mm SL) with up to 300 immature oocytes in each ovary. Sexual ratio of 28 adults (11.9-14.1 mm SL) taken at random is 0.86 males to 1.14 females (Ref. 39865).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Schaefer, S.A., 2003. Scoloplacidae (Spiny dwarf catfishes). p. 310-311. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 36693)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.8 ±0.26 se; based on food items.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).