Phreatobius sanguijuela

Phreatobius sanguijuela
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: incertae sedis
Genus: Phreatobius
Species: P. sanguijuela
Binomial name
Phreatobius sanguijuela
L. A. Fernández, Saucedo, Carvajal-Vallejos & S. A. Schaefer, 2007

Phreatobius sanguijuela is a species of catfish in the genus Phreatobius.[1]

This species was discovered in a hand-dug well in located within the Río Paraguá drainage, a tributary of the Río Iténez in Bolivia.[1] This species is endangered by environmental degradation due to pollution, water extraction for drinking and irrigation, mineral extraction, and associated erosion.[1] It is often killed when accidentally caught from wells because of a superficial resemblance to leeches.[1]

This small fish reaches a maximum length of 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) SL.[1] P. sanguijuela differs from P. cisternarum in a number of ways, but the main differences are the absence of eyes (which are present in P. cisternarum).[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fernandez, Luis; Saucedo, Lisandro J.; Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M.; Schaefer, Scott A. (2007). "A new phreatic catfish of the genus Phreatobius Goeldi 1905 from groundwaters of the Iténez River, Bolivia (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae)". Zootaxa. 1626: 51–58.
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