| SOURCE FOR OCCURRENCE IN ECUADOR: Vari et al. (2005), Eschmeyer and Fricke (2012). |
| ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Vari, R.P., C.J. Ferraris Jr., and M.C.C. de Pinna. 2005. The neotropical whale catfishes (Siluriformes: Cetopsidae: Cetopsinae), a revisionary study. Neotropical Ichthyology 3(2):127-238. |
| TYPE SPECIMENS: Holotype: MCZ-48768 (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard) collected in the Rio Blanco, Esemeraldas basin in Esmeraldas province, 4 km above the junction with the Rio Quininde (0 20'N, 79 28'W). |
| TAXONOMIC STATUS: Valid (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2012). |
| RANGE ECUADOR: Rivers draining into the Pacific in northwestern Ecuador (Vari et al., 2005). Type locality is from the Esmeraldas River drainage. |
| RANGE OUTSIDE OF ECUADOR: None according to Vari et al. (2005). |
| COLLECTIONS IN ECUADOR: |
| MAXIMUM SIZE: 18.8 cm standard length (Vari et al., 2005). |
| DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: As whale catfishes (Cetopsidae) species in the genus Paracetopsis are easily distinguished from other catfishes by their small eyes and distinctive shape (see the photograph for the genus in the Guide to Genera). Paracetopsis esmeraldas can be distinguished from all other species in the Cetopsinae except P. bleekeri and P. atahualpa by the posession of a vomerine tooth patch with more than one row of teeth and a medial separation of the contralateral components of the patch (Vari et al., 2005). Paracetopsis esmeraldas differs from P. bleekeri and P. atahualpa by having a greater total number of vertebrae, 50-53 (most specimens have 51 or more), while P. atahualpa has 50 total vertebrae and P. bleekeri has 47-50 (with most specimens having less than 50 vertebrae). Paracetopsis esmeraldas also has the basal portion of the maxillary barbel pale or with a few scattered, dark chromatophores, while it is distinctly dark in P. atahualpa. Furthermore, Paracetopsis esmeraldas has a patch of dark pigmentation on the lateral surface of the operculum which is absent in P. bleekeri. |
| ECOLOGY: Commonly known as "Ciego" (blind) this is a medium-sized, ecologically important carnivorous fish. The cetopsidae in general can be quite voracious and may enter the body cavities of large dead or dying fish to feed (Burgess, 1989). |
| ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: Not of commercial importance. |
| CONSERVATION STATUS: NA, although the species is not heavily exploited as a food species. |
| LINK TO FISHBASE PAGE: Click here for link |
| SPECIES PROFILE CREATED BY: Windsor Aguirre |
| SPECIES PROFILE CONTRIBUTORS: |
