Metadata

Phreatobius undescribed species Anapixi

[Muriel-Cunha 2008]

ORDERSUB-ORDERFAMILY
SiluriformesSiluroideiPhreatobiidae

Synonyms

None.

Country

Brazil

Types

This taxon has not been formally described and there are currently no types.

Distribution

"Brasil, Estado do Amazonas, Barcelos, margem esquerda do Rio Negro, igarape Anapixi" (Muriel-Cunha 2008:93).

Habitat

Hyporheic.

Systematics

A detailed molecular study of the genus Phreatobius, in a Ph.D. thesis, by Janice Muriel-Cunha (Muriel-Cunha 2008) demonstrated that there are at least eight species within the genus Phreatobius and also that the genus resides in its own monogeneric Family, Phreatobiidae (see also Muriel-Cunha and De Pinna 2005, Shibatta, Muriel-Cunha and de Pinna 2007, Muriel-Cunha, De Pinna, M. and Zuanon 2008,  Muriel-Cunha and de Pinna 2008,  Sullivan, Muriel-Cunha and Lundberg 2013). In addition to the three formally described species (P. cisternarum, P. dracunculus and P. sanguijuela) are five which received informal names in the thesis of Muriel-Cunha (P. undescribed species Anapixi, P. undescribed species Jaú, P. undescribed species Tarumanzinho, P. undescribed species Viruá and P. undescribed species Aripuana). Even though it is now 12 years since these informally named taxa were demonstrated to be good species, at least genetically, they have not yet been formally described.

Biological Notes

Perez et al. (2020) found the following: "Histological analysis showed that the vestigial eyes of Phreatobius cisternarum contain a rudimentary lens. Transcriptome analysis revealed a repertoire of eleven visual and non-visual opsins and the expression of 36 genes involved in lens development and maintenance. In contrast to other cavefish species, such as Astyanax mexicanus, Phreatichthys andruzzii, Sinocyclocheilus anophthalmus and Sinocyclocheilus microphthalmus, neuromast staining patterns did not show an increase in the number of sensory hair cells" (from their Abstract). Further important results on this very significant subterranean fish, which has hardly been studied, are expected from this research group.

Conservation Status

MuG [NE]

Museum Holdings

MZUSP 81066, MZUSP 95092 (Muriel-Cunha 2008:93)

Key References

Fuhrmann, O. Journal Article 1905 Scleropages formosum und uber Phreatobius cisternarum
Fuhrmann, O. Journal Article 1905 Scleropages formosum und uber Phreatobius cisterarum
Reichel, M. Journal Article 1927 Etude anatomique du Phreatobius cisternarum Goeldi, Silure aveugle du Bresil
DeCarvalho, A.L. Book Section 1967 Novas dados para o conhecimento de Phreatobius cisternarum Goeldi (Pisces, Pygidiidae, Phreatobiinae)
de Pinna, M.C.C. Book Section 1998 Phylogenetic relationships of Neotropical Siluriformes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi): Historical overview and synthesis of hypotheses
Muriel-Cunha, J. and de Pinna, M.C.C. Journal Article 2005 New data on cistern catfish, Phreatobius cisternarum, from subterranean waters at the mouth of the Amazon River (Siluriformes, Incertae Sedis)
Shibatta, O.A., Muriel-Cunha, J. and de Pinna, M.C.C. Journal Article 2007 A new subterranean species of Phreatobius Goeldi, 1905 (Siluriformes, incertae sedis) from the southwestern Amazon basin
Fernandez, L., Saucedo, L.J., Carvajal-Vallejos, F.M. and Schaefer, S.A. Journal Article 2007 A new catfish of the genus Phreatobius Goeldi 1905 from groundwaters of the Itenez River, Bolivia (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae)
Muriel-Cunha, J., Pinna, M. de and Zuanon, J. Journal Article 2008 The first vertebrate from the hyporheic: a new species of Phreatobius Goeldi, 1905 (Siluriformes, incertae Sedis) from northern Amazon, Brazil
Muriel-Cunha, J. and de Pinna, M.C.C. Journal Article 2008 Using DNA to resolve the phylogenetic placement of a morphologically aberrant taxon, the stygal catfish Phreatobius (Goeldi, 1905) (Ostariophysi: Siluriformes)
Muriel-Cunha, J. Thesis 2008 Biodiversidade e sistematica molecular de Phreatobiidae (stariophysi: Siluriformes) - com una proposta sobre sua posicao filogenetica em Siluriformes e uma discussao sobre a evolucao do habito subterraneo
Trajano, E. and Bichuette, M.E. Book Section 2010 Subterranean fishes of Brazil
Sullivan, J.P., Muriel-Cunha, J. and Lundberg, J.G. Journal Article 2013 Phylogenetic relationships and molecular dating of the major groups of catfishes of the Neotropical superfamily Pimelodoidea (Teleostei: Siluriformes)
Ohara, W.M., Da Costa, I.D. and Fonseca, M.L. Journal Article 2016 Behavioiur, feeding habits and ecology of the blind catfish Phreatobius sanguijuela (Ostariophysi: Siluriformes)
Fernandez, L., Bize, J.A. and Lopez, H.L. Journal Article 2017 Peces subterráneos de Sudamérica
Liu, A. Schneider, P. and Taylor,J. Conference Paper 2019 Opsins in the dark. Characterising light sensitive genes in the Brazilian eyeless cavefish Phreatobius cisternarum
Mariluz, B.R. Thesis 2019 A base molecular das adaptações visuais nos genes das opsinas de anableps Anableps e Phreatobius cisternarum através da análise de transcriptoma
Perez, L.N., Mariluz, B.R., Lorena, J., Liu, A., Sousa, M.P., Martins, R.A.P., Taylor, J.S. and Schneider, P.N. Journal Article 2021 The subterranean catfish Phreatobius cisternarum provides insights into visual adaptations to the phreatic environment