A few weeks ago, I noted that I had bought a lace catfish Syonodontis nigrita for my aquarium. The little guy doesn't come out often, preferring the evenings, but he sure is a nice looking fish. Somewhat strangely, he likes to spend time inverted among the plants, wedging himself down near the roots. It took me a while to realize that he wasn't dead! Below is a picture of a lace catfish [click for larger version].
So, my interest was peeked when I noticed that two researchers at Cornell recently described a new species of Syonodontid, Synodontis acanthoperca from Gabon. What's interesting about this species is that it shows distinct sexual dimorphism; older males have a well-developed spine from the operculum (the bone that covers the gills) that is twice the size of the spine in females. Indeed, the presence of an opercular spine is unique to this species and unknown in other catfish. The species is also a relative small Syonodontid, coming in at between four and five centimeters.
Well I think it's a beautiful fish!
There is more on this species here and here, and the paper is:
FRIEL, J.P. & VIGLIOTTA, T.R. "Synodontis acanthoperca, a new species from the Ogooue River system, Gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes (Siluriformes: Mochokidae)" Zootaxa 1125: 45-56 (10 Feb. 2006) [pdf]
On a related note, my sun catfish (Horabagrus brachysoma) has decided that guppies are a food item and has polished one off every few evenings. There's now one left. Ummm.
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