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Sturisomatichthys
Sturisomatichthys is a genus of catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae. It includes four species, S. caquetae, S. citurensis, S. leightoni, and S. tamanae.
Distribution and habitat
The genus Sturisomatichthys is distributed in the northwestern part of South America, on the Pacific and Atlantic slopes of the Andes. The species appear to occupy the same ecological niche as those in Sturisoma. S. caquetae originates from the Caqueta River basin. S. citurensis inhabits Tuira and Bayano River basins, and is the only species from Panama. S. leightoni is from the Upper Magdalena and Cauca River basins. S. tamanae is found in the San Juan River basin of Colombia.
Description
Sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology of Sturisomatichthys similar to Sturisoma. Sturisomatichthys is distinguished from Sturisoma primarily by the absence of a rostrum. Only one species, S. citurensis, from Panama, seems to be significantly different from all congeneric species in having an abdominal plate cover consisting of small platelets without any particular organization. Other species may represent a species complex with a short snout as in the genus Farlowella with reference to the representatives of the F. curtirostra group. The weakness of this diagnostic feature could lead to the synonymy of Sturisomatichthys with Sturisoma. Sturisomatichthys species grow to about 18–25 centimetres in length.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Sturisomatichthys
