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Astroblepus
Astroblepus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Astroblepidae, the climbing catfishes or naked sucker-mouth catfishes. This genus is the only genus in its family. These catfishes are primarily found in torrential streams in the Andean area. Astroblepus pholeter and A. riberae are troglobites adapted to living in subterranean water systems. These species are typically small, less than 10 cm (4 in). The largest species reaches 30 cm (1 ft). These fish have suckermouths like those of loricariids. They have two pairs of barbels, maxillary and nasal. The dorsal fin spine lacks a locking mechanism. These fish also have odontodes, tiny teeth on their skin. All species exhibit a conical, pointy type on their fin rays like that found in other loricarioids; other species also exhibit a blunt type that is only found on their skin.
Some of these fish are able to live in high altitude and climb the faces of waterfalls. Their climbing ability comes from specially developed pelvic fins, as well as their suckermouths. In their Neotropical Andean habitat, dry and wet seasons are quite extreme, and odontodes may help in sensing food, mates and water flow, as well as help cling to surfaces. They feed upon invertebrates, such as caterpillars and annelids.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 82 known species
Astroblepus dux
speciesAstroblepus dux
Esmeralda's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus cyclopus
broadhead climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus brachycephalus
Palace climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus grixalvii
Andean Catfish
speciesAstroblepus ubidiai
Caldas Climbing Catfish
speciesAstroblepus trifasciatus
Chimborazo climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus chimborazoi
Mindo climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus mindoensis
Apurimac climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus sabalo
Chota climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus chotae
Astroblepus mojicai
speciesAstroblepus mojicai
Canelos climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus boulengeri
Boquia climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus chapmani
St. Augustin climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus marmoratus
Taczanowski's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus taczanowskii
Jumandi climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus pholeter
Astroblepus acostai
speciesAstroblepus acostai
Astroblepus ardiladuartei
speciesAstroblepus ardiladuartei
Astroblepus bellezaensis
speciesAstroblepus bellezaensis
Astroblepus itae
speciesAstroblepus itae
Astroblepus nettoferreirai
speciesAstroblepus nettoferreirai
Astroblepus ortegai
speciesAstroblepus ortegai
Astroblepus putumayoensis
speciesAstroblepus putumayoensis
Astroblepus quispei
speciesAstroblepus quispei
Santander climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus ardilai
Astroblepus rivasae
speciesAstroblepus rivasae
Astroblepus huallagaensis
speciesAstroblepus huallagaensis
Astroblepus hidalgoi
speciesAstroblepus hidalgoi
Astroblepus floridaensis
speciesAstroblepus floridaensis
Astroblepus cajamarcaensis
speciesAstroblepus cajamarcaensis
Astroblepus tamboensis
speciesAstroblepus tamboensis
Astroblepus moyanensis
speciesAstroblepus moyanensis
Astroblepus chinchaoensis
speciesAstroblepus chinchaoensis
Astroblepus floridablancaensis
speciesAstroblepus floridablancaensis
Astroblepus onzagaensis
speciesAstroblepus onzagaensis
Astroblepus curitiensis
speciesAstroblepus curitiensis
Astroblepus pradai
speciesAstroblepus pradai
Astroblepus verai
speciesAstroblepus verai
Astroblepus mendezi
speciesAstroblepus mendezi
Cordoba climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus martinezi
Calles climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus jimenezae
Huaras climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus simonsii
Guapota climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus santanderensis
Regan's Jimenez climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus retropinnus
Pearson's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus supramollis
Titicaca climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus stuebeli
Quebrada climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus frenatus
Orteguasa climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus caquetae
Cachira climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus cacharas
Gualaquiza climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus festae
Regan's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus fissidens
Tarma climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus formosus
Condoto climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus cirratus
Eigenmann's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus eigenmanni
Gunther's climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus guentheri
Bopi climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus longiceps
Jurubida climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus jurubidae
Huambo climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus longifilis
Jimenez climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus heterodon
Villeta climbing catfish
speciesAstroblepus homodon
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Astroblepus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 86698.