Phreatobius undescribed species Tarumanzinho
[Muriel-Cunha 2008]
| ORDER | SUB-ORDER | FAMILY |
|---|---|---|
| Siluriformes | Siluroidei | Phreatobiidae |
Synonyms
None.
Previously subsumed within one of the three formally known species.
Country
BrazilTypes
This taxon has not been formally described and there are currently no types.
Distribution
"Brasil, Astado do Amazonas, mergem esquerda do rio Negro, 20km a noroeste de Manaus, igarape Tarumanzinho (S2059'16.25", O60011'13.81")" (Muriel-Cunha 2008:108).
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
INPA 23055, MZUSP 97673 (Muriel-Cunha 2008:108)
Key References
| Trajano, E. and Bichuette, M.E. | Book Section | 2010 | Subterranean fishes of Brazil |
| Fernandez, L., Bize, J.A. and Lopez, H.L. | Journal Article | 2017 | Peces subterráneos de Sudamérica |
| 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 |