Platysilurus Explained

Platysilurus is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America.

Taxonomy

Platysilurus is classified under the "Calophysus-Pimelodus clade". Within this clade, it is considered a part of the "Pimelodus-group" of Pimelodids, which also includes Pimelodus, Exallodontus, Duopalatinus, Cheirocerus, Iheringichthys, Bergiaria, Bagropsis, Parapimelodus, Platystomatichthys, and Propimelodus.^[1]

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus:

• Platysilurus malarmo Schultz, 1944
• Platysilurus mucosus (Vaillant, 1880)
• Platysilurus olallae (Orcés-V. (es), 1977)

Distribution

P. malarmo is distributed in the Lake Maracaibo basin. P. mucosus inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco River basins. P. olallae is found in Ecuador.^[2]

Description

P. malarmo reaches 70 centimetres (28 in) SL. P. mucosus grows to a length of at least 20 cm (7.9 in) SL.

References

1. Propimelodus, new genus, and redescription of Pimelodus eigenmanni Van der Stigchel 1946, a long-recognized yet poorly-known South American catfish (Pimelodidae: Siluriformes). Lundberg. John G.. Parisi, Béatrice M. . Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 152. 75–88. 2002. 10.1635/0097-3157(2002)152[0075:PNGARO]2.0.CO;2. 86213152 .
2. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Carl J. Jr.. Ferraris. Zootaxa. 1418. 1–628. 2007. 10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1 .