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| Hypancistrus inspector Armbruster, 2002 |
Abstract
Hypancistrus inspector, a new species of suckermouth armored catfish from Venezuela, is described and compared to the only other species of Hypancistrus, Hypancistrus zebra. The two species differ mainly in coloration with H. inspector dark brown to black with pale yellow to white spots and H. zebra with a boldly contrasting pattern of black and white stripes. Hypancistrus is diagnosed based on the unique presence of a sharply angled adductor palatini crest and two reversals: wide anterior separation of the metapterygoid and lateral ethmoid and the loss of the lateral wall of the metapterygoid channel. Specimens of H. inspector were found to have many seeds in the intestine suggesting that the species is at least partially granivorous.
Range.— Known only from the upper río Orinoco and upper río Negro drainages, Amazonas, Venezuela (Fig. 4).
Ecology.— Collected from rocks and rapids. Gut contents reveal that in addition to algae and detritus, H. inspector also consumes seeds. Dicotyledonous seeds were separated into the two cotyledons while monocotyledenous seeds were apparently crushed.
Armbruster, J.W. 2002. Hypancistrus inspector: A New Species of Suckermouth Armored Catfish (Loricariidae: Ancistrinae). Copeia, 2002 (1): 86–92. DOI: 10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0086:HIANSO]2.0.CO;2
Armbruster, J.W., Lujan, N.K. and Taphorn, D.C. 2007. Four New Hypancistrus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from Amazonas, Venezuela. Copeia. (1): 62–79. DOI: 10.1643/0045-8511(2007)7[62:FNHSLF]2.0.CO;2
Resumen: Hypancistrus inspector, una nueva especie de corroncho de Venezuela, se describe y compara con la única otra especie de Hypancistrus, Hypancistrus zebra. Las dos especies se diferencian principalmente en su coloración, con H. inspector de un color castaño obscuro a negro y con manchas de color amarillo claro a blanco, y H. zebra con lineas de color blanco y negro que contrastan. La diagnosticación de Hypancistrus se basa en la presencia única de una cresta adductora palatini de ángulo agudo y dos reversiones: una separación amplia anterior del metapterygoideo y el etmoideo lateral, y la pérdida de la pared lateral del canal metapterygoideo. En el intestino de los espécimenes de H. inspector se encontraron muchas semillas sugeriendo que los peces son granívoros por lo menos parcialmente.
