Upload your photos and videos
Google image
No image available for this species;
drawing shows typical species in Callichthyidae.
Google image
drawing shows typical species in Callichthyidae.
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Callichthyidae (Callichthyid armored catfishes) > Corydoradinae
Etymology: Aspidoras: Greek, aspis, -idos = shield + Greek, dora = skin (Ref. 45335); mephisto: Name refers to the shortened name of Mephistopheles, demon from the German folklore. Mephistopheles comes from the Greek by the combination of three words: με (me), a negation, φῶB (phōs), meaning light, and φιλιB (philis), meaning loving, literally ‘not-light-loving’, or the one who does not love the light, referring to the subterranean behavior of the new species; noun in apposition.
Etymology: Aspidoras: Greek, aspis, -idos = shield + Greek, dora = skin (Ref. 45335); mephisto: Name refers to the shortened name of Mephistopheles, demon from the German folklore. Mephistopheles comes from the Greek by the combination of three words: με (me), a negation, φῶB (phōs), meaning light, and φιλιB (philis), meaning loving, literally ‘not-light-loving’, or the one who does not love the light, referring to the subterranean behavior of the new species; noun in apposition.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
South America: Brazil.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 118110); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 118110)
Max length : 4.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 118110); max. reported age: 10 years (Ref. 118110)
Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This species is distinguished from all of its congeners by the following characters: with a conspicuous reduction of pigmentation and orbit in most specimens; with smaller preadipose azygous plates; presence of dorsal-fin spinelet; parieto-supraoccipital fontanel located mesially on bone; no distinct dark brown or black stripe from anteroventral portion of eye to upper lip lateral area, and absence of striated small platelets on ventral surface of trunk; infraorbital 1 generally with well-developed ventral laminar, or moderately-developed; with poorly-developed serrations on posterior margin of pectoral spine; dorsal fin, even in conspicuously colored specimens, with only dark brown or black chromatophores concentrated on rays, forming spots in some specimens, the membranes hyaline, or with isolated dark brown or black chromatophores on membranes, not forming any conspicuous pattern; nuchal plate not externally visible (Ref. 118110).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.
This species prefers slow waters (small values of dissolved oxygen), small depths (ca. 0.05 m) and bottom formed by silt, clay and boulders, showing higher values of Total Dissolved Solutes compared to the epigean drainage. Abundance is relatively high compared to other troglobitic fishes (ca. 50 individuals in pools), and population densities of 5±6 inds.m-2. Juveniles were observed along small stretches of the drainage, always in lentic and shallow places, isolated from the adults and frequently under roots. It forages calmly close to small submersed roots and silty-bottom, using the anterior extremity of the snout exploring the substrate in a parallel position or forming an angle of ca. 60° in relation to the bottom, sometimes under the small roots. The fish showed this behavior throughout the entire observation time (ca. 20 min) and did not show escape and/or avoidance behavior due to lamp-light or other external disturbances (e.g. presence of the observer). A detailed courtship behavior at the AneÂsio III cave is shown in a video file (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksrV1af0NZY and https://figshare.com/articles/Aspidoras_mephisto_new_species/4583974).
Two individuals were observed close to each other; the smaller one (considered the first male) starts to go around the larger (supposedly the female), and gives gentle touches on the flanks, head and tail. A third individual (the second male) arrives, and then the three stop parallel to each other. After a few seconds, they swim in the opposite direction, the female stops for a few seconds, then swims in the direction of the first male, showing a preference for this individual. However, the second male arrives and the first one swims in the opposite direction, avoiding contact. At this time, the second male, touches abruptly and quickly the female in the flanks and tail, but the female escapes immediately, avoiding the copula. Appearance of several juvenile individuals along the drainage, suggests that the fish were in the reproductive period (dry season); in contrast to the stated behavior of many troglobitic organisms, that show a reproductive peak in the beginning or middle of the rainy season, when food availability and input is higher. One possible explanation is that the AneÂsio-Russão cave-system can sustain the population due the large amount of submerged roots, which represent shelter and food source for this catfish, thus food is probably not the main limiting factor. Captive observations suggest that this species has a high life expectancy, which is a typical characteristic of troglobitic organisms. The holotype captured in adult stage on April 7, 2007 and was kept alive until its preservation, on April 20, 2016 (nine years in captivity). In addition, one of the paratypes, MCP 40634, also captured in adult stage on April 7, 2008 was maintained alive in the aquarium until February 13, 2015 (seven years in captivity). Considering that no evidence or study shows how much time it takes until they reach the adult stage, a minimal life expectancy of at least ten years could be possible for A. mephisto (Ref. 118110).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Main reference
Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Reis, Roberto E. | Collaborators
Tencatt, L.F.C. and M.E. Bichuette, 2017. Aspidoras mephisto, new species: The first troglobitic Callichthyidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from South America. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0171309. (Ref. 118110)
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00741 (0.00287 - 0.01912), b=3.14 (2.92 - 3.36), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.0 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).