Cteniloricaria
Encyclopedia
Cteniloricaria 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...

es (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 three species, C. fowleri, C. maculata, and C. platystoma.

Cteniloricaria has been placed in synonymy
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 with Harttia
Harttia
Harttia is a genus of catfishes of the family Loricariidae.-Taxonomy:As of 1997, Harttia was considered a monophyletic taxon. However, Harttia is in need of revision...

; however, this is questionable because it rests solely on the characteristics of Harttia fowleri without considering the type species
Biological type
In biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...

 of Cteniloricaria. The morphology of C. fowleri is intermediate to that of C. maculata and Harttia surinamensis. The appearance of its abdominal plaque is retarded and its caudal fin's shape is similar to that of the other two species. It appears to be closer to H. surinamensis in body shape than to C. maculata, which was used to justify its move to genus Harttia.

C. fowleri originates from the Oyapock River
Oyapock River
The Oyapock or Oiapoque River is a 370-km long river in South America that forms most of the border between French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá...

 basin. C. maculata originates from the Maroni
Maroni River
The Maroni or Marowijne is a river in South America. It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname...

 and Corantijn River basins. C. platystoma originates from Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

.

Cteniloricaria species grow to about 17–21 centimetres (6.7–8.3 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:...

.

Little is known about C. fowleri except that it was taken from the rapids along with Metaloricaria paucidens. C. maculata lives in creeks and rapids where the vegetation is poor, the water is clear and well-oxygenated and shallow (less than 1 metres or 3.28 ft), with sandy to rocky substrate.
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