Cathorops kailolae Marceniuk & Betancur-R., 2008
Papillate sea catfish
photo by Perusquía, E.

Family:  Ariidae (Sea catfishes), subfamily: Ariinae
Max. size:  25.4 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater; brackish
Distribution:  Central America: Lago Izabal basin in Guatemala and rio Usumacinta basin in Mexico and Guatemala. Since the main arm of the río Usumacinta flows into the río Grijalva near its mouth, the population reported by Miller et al., 2005 from the río Grijalva is probably conspecific with Cathorops kailolae, but this needs verification.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-7; Anal soft rays: 20-24. Can be differentiated from all members of the genus, except Cathorops aguadulce, by having fleshy papillae intercalated with gill rakers on first two gill arches; 14-16 gill rakers on first arch, and body width 17.7-19.7% SL. Additional diagnostic characters include snout length 6.0-8.6% SL; distance from tip of snout to dorsal-fin origin 33.1-38.0% SL; distance from tip of snout to pelvic-fin origin 50.4-52.6% SL; distance between anterior nostrils 3.2-4.5% SL; distance between posterior nostrils 4.1-5.3% SL; orbital diameter 4.6-6.6% SL; interorbital distance 8.9-12.3% SL; dorsal-fin spine length 19.3-24.9% SL; mouth width 8.1-10.0% SL; premaxilla width 4.3-5.4% SL: caudal-fin lower lobe length 29.2-34.3% SL; supraoccipital process width at posterior portion 1.9-2.6%SL; length of accessory tooth plates 1.3-2.5% SL; width of cephalic shield at supracleithrum area 15.3-17.3% SL; and caudal peduncle height 6.6-8.0% SL (Ref. 75004).
Biology:  Occurs mainly in freshwaters, but also present in areas with high salinity (Ref. 75004).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 06 February 2020 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  traumatogenic


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