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Peckoltia bachi
Peckoltia bachi is a species of catfish of the genus Peckoltia.
Distribution and Habitat
P. bachi is found throughout the upper Amazon River and its tributaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
P. bachi is found at the edge of medium to large rivers among submerged twigs and grasses, usually in flow. They may use their pelvic fins to hold onto these twigs and grasses, similar to species of Hypoptopoma.
Appearance and anatomy
P. bachi can be distinguished from all other species of Peckoltia because of a number of traits. It is the only Peckoltia that is able to fold its pelvic fins so that the pelvic fin spines can run parallel to the underside of its body. It also has wider pelvic fin spines than other species. Also, its eyes are low on its head. These traits make this fish appear similar to Hypoptopoma. Their opercle also generally have a patch of odontodes at all ages; in other species of Peckoltia, there generally are not many odontodes on the opercle, and they disappear with size. P. bachi has a tan base color and spotting or spots on the body and fins. P. bachi and P. caenosa are the only species that are mottled instead of having dorsal saddles or spots. P. bachi can be distinguished from P. caenosa by having diffuse, large spots on the head and no markings on the abdomen; P. caenosa has vermiculations on the head and body.
Males may have hypertrophied odontodes on the sides of the body and the posterior portion of the head.
There is some variation in coloration between populations.
P. bachi has a noticeably different form from all other members of the Hypostominae, but recognizing it in its own genus, as it has been in the past, is unjustified.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Peckoltia bachi
