Trichomycteridae - Ituglanis laticeps (Kner, 1863) |
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| SOURCE FOR OCCURRENCE IN ECUADOR: This species is common along the Pacific slope of Ecuador from Esmeraldas to Huaquillas and there are many references for its occurrence in the area (e.g., Eigenmann, 1918; Eigenmann, 1922; Ovchynnyk, 1971; Glodek, 1978; Barriga, 1989; Barriga, 1994; Ferraris, 2007; Laaz & Torres, 2010). |
| ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Kner, R. 1863. Eine Uebersicht der ichthyologischen Ausbeute des Herrn Professors Dr. Mor. Wagner in Central-Amerika. Sitzungsberichte der Koningl. Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munchen 2:220-230. |
| TYPE SPECIMENS: |
| TAXONOMIC STATUS: Valid (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2011). |
| RANGE ECUADOR: Western Andes of Ecuador (Eigenmann, 1922), Guayas basin (Glodek, 1978), Mira, Mataje and Santiago rivers (Barriga, 1994). |
| RANGE OUTSIDE OF ECUADOR: Peru (Ortega & Vari, 1986; Ortega et al, 2011). |
| COLLECTIONS IN ECUADOR: |
| MAXIMUM SIZE: 30 cm (Laaz, based on specimen collected in Caluma River, Bolivar Province). |
| DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Ituglanis laticeps is distinguished from other species ocurring in Western Ecuador by its elongate body shape and having a body is that is uniformly covered by very numerous close-set light brown spots. Teeth are conical only in young specimens, otherwise teeth are incisiform (Glodek, 1978). Glodek (1978) indicates that dark brown median stripes are absent although smaller individuals collected by Aguirre and collaborators had a mix of stripes and spots suggesting that color may change during ontogenty. |
| ECOLOGY: Ituglanis laticeps is known in Ecuador as the "anguila, barbudito, or zandia". It is a medium-sized, ecologically important omnivorous fish(Barriga, 1994). It lives in streams with clear, fast-running water, that have rocks or gravel on the bottom. Often it occurs in shallow waters less than 30 cm in depth (Barriga, 1989).
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| ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: This species is occassionally used as a food fish in western Ecuador. For example, large specimens are consumed in rural parts of Bolivar Province (Laaz, personal observation). |
| CONSERVATION STATUS: NA. |
| LINK TO FISHBASE PAGE: Click here for link |
| SPECIES PROFILE CREATED BY: Enrique Laaz |
| SPECIES PROFILE CONTRIBUTORS: Windsor Aguirre |
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