Escudo de la República de Colombia Escudo de la República de Colombia
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✎ Juan Pablo Rodríguez Malaver

✎ Juan Pablo Rodríguez Malaver

✎ Diego Aguilera

Raphael catfish
Platydoras costatusOrinoquia region

  • Generalities
  • Morpho-functionality
  • Lifecycle
  • Distribution

RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Raphael catfish
Platydoras costatus

Known as armed fish. They have an elongated body, are characterized by having a row of bony plates on the sides and can measure 24 cm in length and it is common to see them on sandy bottoms of slow rivers. They feed on arthropods, mollusks and organic remains. Juveniles are generally cleaning other fish.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Evaluated

Data Deficient

Morpho-functionality

Fins

In its pectoral fins it has some harpoon-shaped spines that the fish uses by tensioning them to avoid being eaten.

Mouth

Its mouth points towards the ground since it feeds on buried animals and algae that are on the stones and the sandy bottom

Whiskers

Its whiskers help it to orient itself in dark waters and at night.

Lifecycle

Reproduction and spawning occur at the beginning of the rainy seasons. It is known that during the juvenile stages it can present a symbiotic relationship of cleaning with the wolffish (Hoplias malabaricus). Very little is known about their courtship and mating behaviors. In these fish there are no migrations and they do not have parental care. There is also no apparent sexual dimorphism.

Raphael catfish

Distribution

They have nocturnal habits; They are found in the basins of the Amazon, Tocantins, Orinoco, Paranaíba, Essequibo and coastal drains of Suriname and French Guiana.

Distribution area