Anostomidae - Leporinus ecuadorensis Eigenmann and Henn, 1916 |
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| Left: Adult fish market specimen. Right: Young individual from tributary to Caluma River. |
| SOURCE FOR OCCURRENCE IN ECUADOR: This species is very common in the Guayas River drainage. There are many references for its occurrence in the area (e.g., Eigenmann, 1922; Ovchynnyk, 1971; Barnhill et al., 1974; Gery, 1977; Glodek, 1978; Barriga, 1991; Florencio, 1993; Laaz et al., 2009; Revelo, 2010; Laaz & Torres, 2010; Jimenez, 2015).
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| ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Eigenmann, C. H., & Henn, A. W. 1916. Description of three new species of characid fishes. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 10 (1/2): 87-90, Pl. 17. |
| TYPE SPECIMENS: Río Barranca, near Naranjito, western Ecuador. |
| TAXONOMIC STATUS: Valid (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2011). |
| RANGE ECUADOR: Guayas River drainage. |
| RANGE OUTSIDE OF ECUADOR: None. |
| COLLECTIONS IN ECUADOR: |
| MAXIMUM SIZE: 39.1 cm (Barnhill et al., 1974). |
| DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Leporinus ecuadorensis is distinguished from other species ocurring in Western Ecuador by the presence of three black lateral body spots, fins without spines, dorsal profile of head slightly concave in adults, bony orbital width greater than snout length (Glodek, 1978). |
| ECOLOGY: Leporinus ecuadorensis known in Ecuador as the “raton”, is a large, ecologically important omnivorous fish that feeds on insects, forest fruits that fall into streams, vegetation, refuse along the stream bed, and small fish (Barnhill et al., 1974). |
| ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: This is an important food fish for people in rural parts of Los Rios province (Revelo, 2010). |
| CONSERVATION STATUS: NA, although the species is heavily exploited as a food species. |
| LINK TO FISHBASE PAGE: Click here for link |
| SPECIES PROFILE CREATED BY: Enrique Laaz |
| SPECIES PROFILE CONTRIBUTORS: Windsor Aguirre |
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