Crossoloricaria is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

 (order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Siluriformes) of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Loricariidae

Loricariidae

Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish , with almost 700 species and new species being described each year. Loricariids originate from fresh water habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and...

. It includes five species, C. bahuaja, C. cephalaspis, C. rhami, C. variegata, and C. venezuelae.

Taxonomy

Crossloricaria is classified in the Pseudohemiodon group in the tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Loricariini of the subfamily Loricariinae

Loricariinae

Loricariinae is a subfamily of the family Loricariidae of catfish . This subfamily is divided into two tribes and about 30 genera.-Taxonomy:...

. This genus is poorly diagnosed and is in need of revision. Its only diagnostic character (incomplete abdominal cover consisting of a double median row of plates) is shared by two other representatives of the Pseudohemiodon group, Apistoloricaria

Apistoloricaria

Apistoloricaria is a genus of freshwater fish in the Loricariidae family of order Siluriformes. It includes four species, A. condei, A. laani, A. istrorhinos, and A. ommation.-Taxonomy:The type species is Apistoloricaria condei...

and Rhadinoloricaria. On top of this, C. rhami has a complete abdominal cover of plates, rendering this diagnostic feature invalid. Crossoloricaria also has some traits such as lip structure and barbel

Barbel (anatomy)

A barbel on a fish is a slender, whiskerlike tactile organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, sturgeon, the zebrafish and some species of shark...

 length that places it closer to Pseudohemiodon

Pseudohemiodon

Pseudohemiodon is a genus of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. It includes seven species, P. amazonus, P. apithanos, P. devincenzii, P. laminus, P. laticeps, P. platycephalus and P. thorectes....

.

Distribution and habitat

The species of Crossoloricaria are distributed in the northwestern part of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 along the Pacific slope (in Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 and Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

), Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...

 region (Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

), and the upper Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

 system (Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

). Crossoloricaria species occur over sandy substrates of larger rivers and their tributaries.

C. bahuaja is found in the Madre de Dios

Madre de Dios River

The Madre de Dios River, homonymous to the Peruvian region it runs through, then becomes the Beni River in Bolivia and then turns northward into Brazil, where it is called the Madeira River...

 basin in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, Río Grande

Río Grande (Bolivia)

The Río Grande in Bolivia rises on the southern slope of the Sierra de Cochabamba, east of the city of Cochabamba, at . At its source it is known as the Río Rocha and crosses the Cochabamba valley basin in a westerly direction...

 in Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, and Rio Manuripe in Pando

Pando

-People:*Pando of Capua , "Pando the Rapacious", Count of Capua*Gabriela Pando , Argentine field hockey player*José Manuel Pando , 29th President of Bolivia*Juan Pando , Spanish historian...

; this species occurs in the main river and major tributaries, always over sandy beaches. C. cephalaspis originates from the Magdalena River

Magdalena River

The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...

. C. rhami is distributed in the upper Amazon River basin. C. variegata is found in the Mamoni

Mamoni River

-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.*CIA map, 1995....

, Tuira

Tuira River

The Tuira River is located in the Darién Province of eastern Panama. It flows into the Bay of San Miguel at the province capital of La Palma.It is the largest river in Panama, and one of its tributaries, the Chucunaque River, is the longeset river in Panama....

 and Yape River basins in Panama, and in the San Juan

San Juan River (Colombia)

San Juan River is an important river of Colombia. It quoted source is in the Cordillera Occidental and has a length of 380 km...

 and Sinu River

Sinú River

Sinú River , is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. The river is the third most important river after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River in the Caribbean Region. It is born in the Antioquia Department, flowing south to north...

 basins in Colombia. C. venezuelae originates from the Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...

 drainage.

Appearance and anatomy

C. bahuaja reaches a length of about 16 centimetres (6 in) SL

Fish measurement

Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...

. C. cephalaspis grows to about 11 cm (4 in) SL. C. rhami grows to a length of about 13 cm (5 in) SL. C. variegata grows the largest, to almost 27 cm (10 in). C. venezuelae grows to about 18 cm (7 in) SL.

Ecology

Stomach contents of C. bahuaja include larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of aquatic insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s, small seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s and debris

Debris

Debris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris...

. C. bahuaja males have been found carrying eggs on their lips.