Metadata

Ancistrus formoso

Sabino and Trajano 1997

Ancistrus formoso
Drawing by Rhian Kendall from photograph in Sabino and Trajano (1997)
ORDERSUB-ORDERFAMILY
SiluriformesLoricarioideiLoricariidae

Synonyms

None.

Country

Brazil

Types

Holotype: MZUSP 51836 72.8mm SL. Paratype MZUSP (?) no number 79mm SL.

Distribution

Type locality: Buraco do Ducho cave, Serra da Bodoquena, Municipio de Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (21o8’S, 56o28’W). Collected also from the Formosinho Resurgence in the same area. These caves are hydrologically related. Known also from N, Rio Formoso on the Formoso River drainage (Cordeiro, Borghezan and Trajano 2014).

Habitat

This species lives in flooded caves forming the Formoso system. These caves belong to the Paraguai River basin and are accessible only by diving to depths of up to 120m. Troglomorphic fishes are found between 15m and 40m depth but are commonest below 30m. The phreatic passages inhabited by these fishes have smooth walls with few refugia and the fishes are seen on the walls. Potential predators, e.g. Rhamdia quelen (Heptapterinae) and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (Erythrinidae) may reach depth of up to 45m but most are restricted to the twilight zone where A. formoso is not usually seen (Bessa and Trajano 2001, 2002).

Systematics

This species is highly stygomorphic. Individuals are totally anophthalmic and depigmented. One specimen was a true albino (see Trajano and De Pinna 1996 for a discussion of depigmentation and albinism). The high degree of stygomorphism suggests that this species has been isolated in the subterranean habitat for a long period (Bessa and Trajano 2002).

Conservation Status

[NE] [VU D2:3.1:2011]

Ancistrus formoso is endemic to Brazil, known only from the caves system of the Formoso River, MS, located outside the Bodoquena National Park. The area of occupation is less than 10 km2. Limestone mining for cement production is expanding in the region, setting itself up as a potential future plausible threat. Protecting the cave system from the surroundings of the Parna da Bodoquena is essential for the conservation of the species, through the expansion of Parna or the creation of some conservation unit. The species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) under criterion D2. [Google Translate]

Museum Holdings

As above only.

Internet Resources

Web page for the Family Loricariidae

Key References

Bleckmann, H., Niemann, U. and Fritzsch, B. Journal Article 1991 Peripheral and central aspects of the acoustic and lateral line system of a bottom dwelling catfish, Ancistrus sp.
Sabino, J. and Trajano, E. Journal Article 1997 A new species of blind armoured catfish, genus Ancistrus, from caves of Bodoquena region, Mato Grosso do Sul, southwestern Brazil (Siluriformes, Loricariidae, Ancistrinae)
Trajano, E. and Gerhard, P. Journal Article 1997 Light reaction in Brazilian cave fishes (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae, Trichomycteridae, Loricariidae)
Bessa, E. and Trajano, E. Conference Proceedings 2001 Light reaction and cryptobiotic habits in two cave-dwelling Brazilian armoured catfishes, genus Ancistrus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)
Bessa, E. and Trajano, E. Journal Article 2001 Light recation and cryptobiotic habitats in armoured catfishes, genus Ancistrus, from caves in central and north-eastern Brazil
Armbruster, J.W. Journal Article 2004 Phylogenetic relationships of the suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae) with emphasis on the Hypostominae and the Ancistrinae
Reis, R.E., Trajano, E. and Hingst-Zaher, E. Journal Article 2006 Shape variation in surface and cave populations of the armoured catfish Ancistrus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the São Domingos karst area, Upper Tocantins River, Brazil.
Borghezan, R. Thesis 2008 Caracterizacao da ictiocenose em poc¸oes da Gruta das Fadas e aspectos biologicos de Rhamdia sp. (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) e Ancistrus sp. (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), Serra da Bodoquena, Mato Grosso do Sul.
Felice, V., Visconti, M.A. and Trajano, E. Journal Article 2008 Mechanisms of pigmentation loss in subterranean fishes
Lujan, N.K. and Armbruster, J.W. Journal Article 2012 Morphological and functional diversity of the mandible in suckermouth armored catfishes (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)
Cordeiro, L.M., Borghezan, R. and Trajano, E. Journal Article 2013 Distribuição, riqueza e conservação dos peixes troglóbios da Serra da Bodoquena, MS (Teleostei: Siluriformes). Distribution, richness and conservation of troglobitic fishes from Serra da Bodoquena, MS (Teleostei)
Borghezan. R. Thesis 2013 Ecologia populacional e cornportamento de peixes subterraneos, Rhamdia sp. n. e Ancistrus sp. n. da area carstica da Serra da Bodoquena, Mato Grosso do Sul (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae, Loricariidae)
von Schimonsky, D.M. and Bichuette, M.E. Journal Article 2013 A expressão do comportamento agonístico em Ituglanis ramiroi Bichuette and Trajano 2004 (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) e sua aplicação para conservação
Cordeiro, L.M., Borghezan, R. and Trajano, E. Journal Article 2014 Subterranean biodiversity in the Serra da Bodoquena karst area, Paraguay river basin, Mato Grosso do Sul, Southwestern Brazil
Trajano, E., Gallao, J.E. and Bichuette, M.E. Journal Article 2016 Spots of high biodiversity of troglobites in Brazil: the challenge of measuring subterranean diversity
Gallão, J.E. and Bichuette M.E. Journal Article 2018 Brazilian obligatory subterranean fauna and threats to the hypogean environment
Splendore de Borba, R., Mariotto, S., Centofante, L., Zawadzki C.H. and Parise-Maltempi, P.P. Journal Article 2019 Molecular discrimination of Ancistrus lineages (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) using barcode DNA tool
Mendes, I.S., Prosdocimi, F., Schomaker-Bastos, A., Furtado, C., Ferreira, R.L., .Pompeu, P.S. and Carvalho, D.C. Journal Article 2019 On the evolutionary origin of Neotropical cavefish Ancistrus cryptophthalmus (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) based on the mitogenome and genetic structure of cave and surface populations
Glugoski, L., Deon, G., Schott, S., Vicari, M.R., Nogaroto, V. and Moreira-Filho, O. Journal Article 2020 Comparative cytogenetic analyses in Ancistrus species (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)
Meng, F., Yin, X., Zhang, T., Zhao, C., Xue, X., Xia, X., Zhu, X., Duan, Z., Liu, B. and Liu, Y. Journal Article 2021 The first determination and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Ancistrus temmincki (Siluriformes:Loricariidae)
Santos da Silva, K., Glugoski, L., Vicari, M.R., de Souza, A.C.P., Noronha, R.C.R., Pieczarka, J.C. and Nagamachi, C.Y. Journal Article 2022 Chromosomal diversification in Ancistrus species (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) Inferred from repetitive sequence analysis