Curimatidae - Pseudocurimata troschelii (Gunther, 1860) |
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| SOURCE FOR OCCURRENCE IN ECUADOR: This species is common in the Guayas River drainage, in the Zarumilla River and in the Tumbes rivers in northern Peru. There are many references for its occurrence in Ecuador (e.g., Eigenmann, 1922; Ovchynnyk, 1971; Gery, 1977; Glodek, 1978; Vari, 1989; Laaz et al., 2009; Laaz & Torres, 2010). |
| ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Gunther, A. 1860. Second list of cold-blooded vertebrata collected by Mr. Fraser in the Andes of western Ecuador. Proceedings of the General Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of London 1859 (pt 3):402-420. |
| TYPE SPECIMENS: |
| TAXONOMIC STATUS: Valid (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2011). |
| RANGE ECUADOR: Guayas River drainage and Zarumilla river in El Oro province (Vari, 1989). |
| RANGE OUTSIDE OF ECUADOR: Tumbes River in northern Peru (Vari, 1989). |
| COLLECTIONS IN ECUADOR: |
| MAXIMUM SIZE: 20.3 cm (Eigenmann, 1922). |
| DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Pseudocurimata troschelii is distinguished from P. lineopunctata and P. patiae by the absence of small, discrete, dark spots aligned in longitudinal rows on the lateral and dorsolateral surfaces of the body, which the latter two species possess. The 35 to 37 vertebrae of P. troschelii further distinguish it from those two species, which have 31 to 33 vertebrae, and from P. boehlkei, which has 33 or 34 vertebrae. Pseudocurimata troschelii also lacks the discrete spot at the base of the middle caudal-fin rays characteristic of P. peruana, and has 39 to 47 scales along the lateral line to the hypural joint compared to the 50 to 57 that typify P. boulengeri (Vari, 1989).
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Top: Specimen of Pseudocurimata troschelii. Bottom: Specimen of Pseudocurimata boulengeri. Note difference in body depth. Also not difference in scales along lateral line. Pseudocurimata boulengeri has a significantly higher number of scales than P. troschelii. Both specimens were collected in Daule-Peripa Reservoir, northern Guayas River drainage.
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| ECOLOGY: Pseudocurimata troschelii is known in Ecuador as the “dica”. It is a relatively large, ecologically important herbivorous fish. It occupies a similar ecological niche to that of its congener P. boulengeri (Antonio Torres, University of Guayaquil, Personal communication). |
| ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: This is an important food fish for people in rural parts of western Ecuador. |
| 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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