Pygidianops amphioxus de Pinna & Kirovsky, 2011

Family:  Trichomycteridae (Pencil or parasitic catfishes), subfamily: Glanapteryginae
Max. size:  3.04 cm SL (male/unsexed); 2.57 cm SL (female)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Brazil. Pygidianops amphioxus has the broadest reported distribution of any glanapterygine species yet known, spanning over 900 km in straight line. Its westernmost record is the rio Daraá, tributary of the upper rio Negro, and its eastern limit is an affluent to the rio Nhamundá, a northern Amazonian tributary just west of the rio Trombetas. Within the Ducke Preserve, the species occurs in igarapé do Acará and igarapé Tinga (Soares-Carvalho, 2010), which belong to two distinct systems. The igarapé do Acará opens on the rio Tarumã, which is a tributary to the lower rio Negro; while the igarapé Tinga is part of the rio Puraquequara which opens directly into the rio Amazonas. In all cases, P. amphioxus is restricted to lowland terra firme rivers on the northern Amazonian versant. This suggests some association with the Guiana Shield, a link further highlighted by the close relationship of P. amphioxus to P. magoi, from the río Orinoco. However, at this time it is premature to speculate further on the significance of that association. It is likely that current distributional data are still incomplete and that the species will be found in many other localities as suitable microhabitats are more thoroughly sampled (Ref. 87858).
Diagnosis:   
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 07 November 2018 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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