Scleronema is a genus of pencil catfishes native to South America. They are a member of the subfamily Trichomycterinae.[1] Species of Scleronema are geographically distributed in the La Plata basin and Atlantic coastal drainages from Southern Brazil, Southern Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina and Uruguay. They inhabit rivers or streams with sand or gravel-bottoms across the Pampa grasslands.[2] In Greek, Scleronema means "hard filament."[3]

Scleronema
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Trichomycteridae
Subfamily: Trichomycterinae
Genus: Scleronema
C. H. Eigenmann, 1917
Type species
Scleronema operculatum
C. H. Eigenmann, 1917

Species

edit

There are currently three recognized species in this genus:[4]

S. minutum and S. operculatum both originate from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; S. minutum 4.0 cm (1.6 in) SL and S. operculatum 8.0 cm (3.1 in).[5][6] S. minutum and S. operculatum usually live in a freshwater, tropical environment.[5][6] S. operculatum are harmless to humans.[6]

Scleronema angustirostre

edit

As of 2017, S. angustirostre has been deemed a prohibited nonnative species in Florida, meaning the species is a danger to the ecology, health, and/or welfare of Florida and its residents. Like other species of Scleronema, S. angustirostre thrive in a freshwater environment and are benthopelagic, meaning that they either live at the surface or bottom of a body of water.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Scleronema". ITIS. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  2. ^ Ferrer, Juliano; Malabarba, Luiz R. (2020). "Systematic revision of the Neotropical catfish genus Scleronema (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae), with descriptions of six new species from Pampa grasslands". Neotropical Ichthyology. 18 (2): e190081. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2019-0081. hdl:10183/248278.
  3. ^ "Scleronema angustirostre summary page". FishBase.us. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Scleronema". FishBase. February 2012 version.
  5. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Scleronema minutum". FishBase. July 2007 version.
  6. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Scleronema operculatum". FishBase. July 2007 version.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-26. Retrieved 2020-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)