Parotocinclus

Taxobox
name = "Parotocinclus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Siluriformes
familia = Loricariidae
subfamilia = Hypoptopomatinae
tribus = Otothyrini
genus = "Parotocinclus"
genus_authority = Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889
type_species = "Otocinclus maculicauda"
type_species_authority = Steindachner, 1877
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "P. amazonensis"
"P. aripuanensis"
"P. bahiensis"
"P. bidentatus"
"P. britskii"
"P. cearensis"
"P. cesarpintoi"
"P. collinsae"
"P. cristatus"
"P. doceanus"
"P. eppleyi"
"P. haroldoi"
"P. jimi"
"P. jumbo"
"P. longirostris"
"P. maculicauda"
"P. minutus"
"P. muriaensis"
"P. planicauda"
"P. polyochrus"
"P. prata"
"P. spilosoma"
"P. spilurus"

"Parotocinclus" is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae.

Taxonomy

By an analysis published in 2005, "Parotocinclus" is not a monophyletic genus. "P. jumbo" is not closely related to "P. maculicauda", but is positioned, instead, as a basal lineage of the Hypoptopomatinae. Additionally, "P. collinsae" is not closely related to "P. maculicauda", and may be more closely related to "Hypoptopoma" and four other genera. "P. jumbo" and "P. collinsae" may eventually be transferred to new genera. "P. bidentatus" and "P. muriaensis" form a monophyletic pair of sister taxa that is more closely related to a subset of species of "Parotocinclus" (which includes "P. maculicauda") than to any other genus of the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae.cite journal|url=http://www.ufrgs.br/ni/vol3num4%5CNI_v3n4p509-518lowr.pdf|title=Two new species of Hypoptopomatinae from the rio Paraíba do Sul basin, with comments on the monophyly of "Parotocinclus" and the Otothyrini (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)|first=Marco F. W.|last=Gauger|coauthors=Buckup, Paulo Andreas|journal=Neotropical Ichthyology|volume=3|issue=4|pages=509–518|year=2005|format=PDF|doi=10.1590/S1679-62252005000400008]

Distribution

"Parotocinclus" species are distributed in the Atlantic coastal drainages of Guyana and Surinam, eastern and southeastern Brazil.cite journal|title=A New Species of the Loricariid Genus "Parotocinclus" from Southern Venezuela (Pisces: Siluroidei)|first=Scott A.|last=Schaefer|journal-Copeia|year=1988|issue=1|pages=182–188] Seven species of "Parotocinclus" are known from Brazilian rivers south of the São Francisco River basin: "P. maculicauda" (southeastern coastal rivers from Espírito Santo to Santa Catarina States); "P. bahiensis" (Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia State); "P. doceanus" (Doce River, Espírito Santo State); "P. minutus" (Canudos, Bahia State); "P. cristatus" (Ilhéus, Bahia State); "P. jimi" (Itagibá, Bahia State); and "P. planicauda" (Suaçui Pequeno River, a tributary of the Doce River, flowing near the city of Coroaci, Minas Gerais State).

Description

Most species of "Parotocinclus" have the caudal peduncle oval in cross section; however, in "P. planicauda" and "P. cristatus", it is quadrangular.cite journal|url=http://www.scielo.br/pdf/bjb/v63n2/a10v63n2.pdf|title="Parotocinclus planicauda", a New Species of the Subfamily Hypoptopomatinae from Southeastern Brazil (Ostariophysi: Loricariidae)|last=Garavello|first=J. C.|coauthors=Britski, H. A.|journal=Braz. J. Biol.|volume=63|issue=2|pages=253–260|year=2003|format=PDF|doi=10.1590/S1519-69842003000200010]

Ecology

It has been found that "Characidium" species may interact with "Parotocinclus maculicauda". The small "Characidium" will follow grazing "P. maculicauda", which release particulate matter dislodged from the catfish's foraging. [cite journal|last=Leitao|first=Rafael P.|coauthors=Caramaschi, Érica P.; Zuanon, Jansen|title=Following food clouds: feeding association between a minute loricariid and a characidiin species in an Atlantic Forest stream, Southeastern Brazil|journal=Neotrop. Ichthyol.|year=2007|volume=5|issue=3|pages=307–310|url=http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252007000300011&lng=en&nrm=iso|doi=10.1590/S1679-62252007000300011]

References