From their form they are only
little differences from each other. Their trademark
is the big head with the little eyes and short barbles
but with an almost head wide mouth. They are sluggish
animals which hardly move and only lie waiting for
prey. Habitat: C. fowleri
is to be found exclusively in the Rio São Francisco
of Brazil and there mainly in the more calm flowing
river sections. As with most of this family this species
is very much a predator. Four species have been described
to the genus Cephalosilurus resident in South
America. Three of them have been introduced for keeping
in the aquarium, C.
apurensis, C.
nigricaudus and C. fowleri.
Update Dec. 2021:
(Shibatta, Oscar A. et al, Abstract) Lophiosilurus
is a monotypic genus represented by L. alexandri,
a species endemic to the São Francisco river
basin, Brazil. In previous phylogenetic analyses,
the genus has been recovered as the sister group of
Cephalosilurus. However, few species of Cephalosilurus
or few characters were included in those studies.
Thus, the current study aims to test the monophyletic
hypothesis of the genera Lophiosilurus and
Cephalosilurus with a more comprehensive
phylogenetic analysis, including all Cephalosilurus
species and a representative number of characters.
Phylogenetic analyses of 18 terminal taxa (15 ingroups
and three outgroups) were conducted based on a combined
75 character matrix, including 70 discrete morphological
characters concerning osteology and neuroanatomy,
four continuous characters, and the geometric morphometry
of the head. The monophyly of the family Pseudopimelodidae
was highly supported, and Cephalosilurus
is synonymized with Lophiosilurus.
The recovered phylogeny of the genus was (L. albomarginatus
, L. nigricaudus, L. apurensis, L. fowleri,
and L. alexandri). Remarks:
Lophiosilurus
apurensis is still found on some
online searches as Cephalosilurus apurensis.
Common
Name:
Rusty Jelly Cat
Synonyms:
Pseudopimelodus fowleri,
Cephalosilurus fowleri.
Family:
Pseudopimelodidae
Distribution:
South America:
São Francisco River basin.
Size:
40.0cm. (16ins)
Temp:
23-27°C (73-81°F)
p.H.
6.5-7.5.
Reference:
Oscar A. Shibatta,
Lucas R. Jarduli, Vitor P. Abrahão & Lenice
Souza-Shibatta. (2021). Phylogeny of the
Neotropical Pacman catfish genus Lophiosilurus (Siluriformes:
Pseudopimelodidae). Neotrop. ichthyol., 19 (4). ScotCat Article:
Better
than its reputation, a look at
Cephalosilurus fowleri.
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