All FishesAspredinidaePseudobunocephalinaePseudobunocephalus  |  | 

Hop to next section All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name Pseudobunocephalus lundbergi  Friel, 2008
Common Name
Type Locality Caño Barranca, about 1.25 hours downstream from Jabillal (opposite bank) on río Caura, 7°08'N, 65°04'W, Bolivar, Venezuela.
Pronunciation sue doh boon oh SEFF ah luss.
Etymology The generic name is a combination of the Greek word pseudes, meaning false or deceptive, plus the aspredinid genus Bunocephalus. It alludes to the fact that members of this genus have previously been mistaken for juveniles of various species of Bunocephalus. The specific name is patronymic in honor of Dr. John G. Lundberg of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 29mm or 1.1" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification Relatively small (less than 80 mm SL) banjo catfishes distinguished from other aspredinids by having the following unique characters: the dentary teeth are restricted to broad tooth patch near symphysis of lower jaw (vs. more broadly distributed along the length of the dentary); the metapterygoid lacks a bony connection with the quadrate; the posterior end of autopalatine is distinctly forked and bears two separate terminal cartilages; the absence of the fourth pharyngobranchial; the absence of gill rakers on all branchial arches; and the lack of bifid hemal spines on vertebrae that articulate with anal-fin pterygiophores. Other characters not unique to this genus, but still useful for distinguishing it from other aspredinid genera include: the anterior limits of upper and lower jaws are approximately equal (also in Acanthobunocephalus); the lateral line is truncated at approximately the level of the dorsal-fin origin (also in Acanthobunocephalus); the dorsal- and ventral-most principal caudal rays much shorter in length than other principal caudal rays (also in Acanthobunocephalus); the dorsal- and anal-fin membranes are not adnate with body (also in Acanthobunocephalus); the interhyal is absent (also in Hoplomyzon); and the abdominal and precaudal centra lack bony horizontal lamina (also in Dupouyichthys, Ernstichthys, Hoplomyzon and Micromyzon).

P. lundbergi can be distinguished from all congeners by having the following unique characters within the genus: dorsal surface of skull ornamented with numerous bony knobs of equal size; distinct anterior and posterior cranial fontanels separated by a bony epiphyseal bar formed between the frontals; infraorbital canal exits from the sphenotic and extends anteriorly past eye, bearing up to four pores; premaxilla without a posterolateral limb; and fifth centra with posteriorly directed processes that articulate with skeletal elements of the dorsal fin.
Sexing The largest wild-caught specimens (in the original description) were all females, so size may distinguish sexes in adults. Otherwise, no observed dimorphism of body ornamentation, fins or pigmentation.
General Remarks Color in alcohol: Pigmentation variable with two distinct color morphs, one dark and one light. Dark morph with head light brown and irregularly mottled with darker pigment; overall body light brown with three poorly defined dark saddles, first beneath dorsal fin, and two more on posterior body. Individual unculiferous tubercles may be unpigmented or darkly pigmented giving speckled appearance to body. Ventral surface light brown with dark pigment concentrated in unculiferous tubercles. All fins and barbels mottled with dark pigment. Light morphs have similar pigmentation pattern to dark morphs but lack series of dark saddles on dorsal surface.
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution South America: Colombia and Venez.
Orinoco, Lower Orinoco, Caura (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Orinoco, Middle Orinoco, Apure (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Orinoco, Middle Orinoco, Meta (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Breeding Unreported.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Neotropical Ichthyology v. 6 (no. 3), pp 295, Figs. 3-4.
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Last Update 2022 May 21 02:03 (species record created: 2010 Feb 14 12:55)