Catfishes of the genus Auchenipterichthys (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae): a revisionary study

Abstract

The Neotropical auchenipterid catfish genus Auchenipterichthys is reviewed and found to include four species. Auchenipterichthys thoracatus, formerly considered to be widely distributed throughout the Amazon River basin, is found to be restricted to the upper Madeira River basin. The widespread Amazonian species that had been misidentified as A. thoracatus is, instead, A. coracoideus; a species that also occurs in the upper Essequibo River. Auchenipterichthys longimanus, the most widely distributed species of the genus, is found through much of the Amazon and Orinoco River basins. The fourth species of the genus, A. punctatus (and its junior synonym A. dantei), is found in the upper portions of the Orinoco and Negro River basins in Venezuela and the central portions of the Amazon River basin in Brazil. All four species of Auchenipterichthys are redescribed and illustrated, and a key to the species is provided.