Microcambeva 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...

 Trichomycteridae

Trichomycteridae

Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as the pencil or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the infamous candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans....

. It includes three species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, M. draco, M. barbata and M. ribeirae.

Microcambeva is thought to be widespread along coastal basins of southern, southeastern, and eastern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. M. barbata originates from Atlantic coastal drainages of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro (state)

Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...

 and Espírito Santo

Espírito Santo

Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...

 states in Brazil. M. ribeirae originates from the Ribeira do Iguape River basin of southeastern Brazil. Two undescribed species of Microcambeva are known from the Doce River

Doce River

The Doce River is a river in southeast Brazil, which has an extension of 853 km.It is formed by the junction of the Piranga and the Carmo near the historical city of Ouro Preto, whose sources are located in the foothills of the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountain chains at altitudes of about 1,200...

 basin in Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

 state and Jucuruçu River

Jucurucu River

The Jucurucu River is a river of Bahia and Minas Gerais states in eastern Brazil.-References:*...

 in Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

 state.

The two currently described species of Microcambeva have similar general morphology. M. ribeirae has a maximum recorded length of 4.8 centimetre

Centimetre

A centimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundredth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length. Centi is the SI prefix for a factor of . Hence a centimetre can be written as or — meaning or respectively...

s (1.9 in

Inch

An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...

) 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:...

. M. ribeirae is distinguished from M. barbata by a series of morphological features, including the extent of the nasal barbels

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...

 (to the nostril instead of the eye), the position of the eye (posterior half of head instead of on central portion), the first pectoral fin ray being shorter than the posterior ones (instead of the first ray being elongate and forming a prominent filament), the anal fin origin behind the vertical through the base of the last dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

rays (instead of at this vertical), and others.

M. ribeirae has been found in clear, shallow streams (about 60 cm or 24 in deep) with a gray, sandy bottom in which the specimens were found entirely buried except for snout and barbels.