Helogenes is a genus of whale catfish found in tropical South America.
| Helogenes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Helogenes marmoratus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Cetopsidae |
| Subfamily: | Helogeneinae Regan, 1911 |
| Genus: | Helogenes Günther, 1863 |
| Type species | |
| Helogenes marmoratus Günther, 1863
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Leyvaichthys Dahl, 1960 | |
Helogeneinae is the sister taxon of Cetopsinae, the other subfamily in the family Cetopsidae.[1]
Species edit
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[2]
- Helogenes castaneus (Dahl, 1960)
- Helogenes gouldingi Vari & H. Ortega, 1986
- Helogenes marmoratus Günther, 1863
- Helogenes uruyensis Fernández-Yépez, 1967
Distribution edit
Helogenes species occur through much of the Amazon River basin, the southern portions of the Orinoco River basin, the coastal rivers of the Guianas, and at least the lower portions of the Tocantins River.[3]
Description edit
In Helogenes, the dorsal fin base is short, the anal fin base is elongate, the dorsal and pectoral fins lack spines, the adipose fin is usually present, but is reduced or absent in one population of one species.[4][3] Helogenes species grow to about 4.3–7.3 centimetres (1.7–2.9 in) SL.[2]
Ecology edit
Helogenes species feed on allochthonous insects.[1] The only species for which details of the ecology are known is H. marmoratus (refer to article for that species).
References edit
- ^ a b Vari, Richard P.; Ferraris, Carl J.; de Pinna, Mário C. C. (2005). "The Neotropical whale catfishes (Siluriformes: Cetopsidae: Cetopsinae), a revisionary study" (PDF). Neotropical Ichthyology. 3 (2): 127–238. doi:10.1590/S1679-62252005000200001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). Species of Helogenes in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ a b Ferraris Jr., Carl J.; Vari, Richard P. (2007-06-07). "Whale Catfishes Cetopsidae". Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- ^ Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.