A New Family for this New Catfish Species - Lacantunia enigmatica
Dr. John Lundberg of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and a team of researchers from Mexico and the U.S. have discovered a new, rarely seen species of catfish representing an entirely new taxonomic family.
The rare find marks only the third new family of fish found in the last 60+ years. It is the 37th family of catfishes.
Researchers named the new family Lacantuniidae. The name comes from the fish’s habitat in the Lacantún river of the southern Chiapas state in Mexico. It is commonly fished by local people who call it “madre de juil” meaning “mother of Rhamdia,” another local catfish.
The species name L. enigmatica is Latin for baffling or inexplicable in reference to the unexpected discovery, obscure relationships and origin of the new catfish. The researchers also suggested the common name “Chiapas Catfish”.
Lundberg, the Academy’s Curator of Ichthyology, said only about 30 of the fish have been found since the 1990s and only one specimen was collected in a recent five-day expedition. “This find reminds us that the most basic scientific inventory of Earth’s biodiversity is woefully incomplete.” Lundberg said.
Anatomical studies aided by high-resolution computer images allowed researchers to pinpoint key differences from other species in the bone structure of the skull, the shape of the air bladder and the articulation of the barbel (the part that resembles a cat’s whisker).
Studies also show the fish is the only member of an ancient group that may have arisen millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
“Realizing now that the Chiapas catfish is highly unusual, it is critical that we learn the details of its diet and habitat requirements and reproductive biology,” Lundberg said. “This will require a focused study of the species in its natural habitat.”
That habitat is of concern to researchers, however. The fish was found in and around Montes Azules, a jungle reserve in a region threatened by logging, expansion of agriculture, cattle ranching, and the damming of rivers.
The researchers’ full scientific report can be found here: Lacantunia enigmatica (Teleostei: Siluriformes) a new and phylogenetically puzzling freshwater fish from Mesoamerica [pdf]
Did You Know: Nearly 3,000 species of catfishes are known and scientists estimate another 1,000 or more remain to be discovered and scientifically described.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Lacantuniidae
Genus: Lacantunia