AquaticRepublic.com - Microglanis ater (Pseudopimelodidae) All Fishes

Holotype (ZMB 20932)
Holotype (ZMB 20932), dorsal view
Holotype (ZMB 20932), ventral view
Holotype, dorsal view

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Microglanis ater** Ahl, 1936
Common Name	South American Bumblebee Catfish
Type Locality	Brazil [as Mitttelbrazil].
Etymology	Micro - small, glanis - catfish - in reference to the rather small forms of catfish that this genus contains.
Species Information
Size	81mm or 3.2" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	The genus Microglanis was described by Eigenmann (1912) to include small pimelodids with the head as wide as long, the skull covered by skin only; the occipital crest small; frontal fontanel not extending much if any behind the eye, and a minute occipital fontanel sometimes present; eye without a free orbital margin; dorsal and pectoral spines well developed; and premaxillary patches of teeth without backward projecting angles. From Ahl (1936): Body height 3 2/3 times the body length, head length 3 1/2 times. Head slightly wider than long, flat; Rounded snout; Eye 3 2/3 times the length of the snout, 7 1/2 times the length of the head, 3 1/2 times the interorbital width; Maxillary barbel as long as the mental barbel, not reaching to the beginning of the pectoral spine; Postmental barbel even shorter; Mouth wide, the corner in front of the eye; both front jaws of equal length; anterior nostrils clearly tubular; Groups of premaxillary teeth without backward protruding angles. Dorsal I 6, its distance from the tip of the snout 2 3/5 times the length of the body; the spine a little over 1/2 the length of the head. Anal 14, rounded. Base of the dorsal, anal and adipose fin about the same length. Pectoral spine strong, with large serrations all along the margin on both sides, those on the inside considerably larger than those on the outside; the serrations of the outer edge bent backwards, those of the inner edge bent forward. Ventral just behind the last ray of the dorsal, just reaching the beginning of the anal. Caudal not forked very deeply, the lower lobe slightly larger and longer than the upper, slightly shorter than the head. Basic color (in alcohol) black, belly gray-white; a very indistinct, barely visible , slightly lighter band over the neck from pectoral to pectoral, a similar, also only weakly indicated band behind the dorsal; a light spot in front of the adipose fin in the middle of the back. All fins are black, the dorsal with a white spot in the middle near the posterior margin, the caudal with a wide, white transverse band in the middle and a white border. One example, 81 mm total length, from Central Brazil (JOH. PAUL ARNOLD, Hamburg. G.); the new species differs from the few known species of the genus conspicuously in the higher number of rays in the anal (14 compared to 9-11) and in the color.
Sexing	Well-conditioned females are conspicuously wider in the abdomen than similarly sized males.
General Remarks	According to Bizerril & Perez-Neto (1992), M. ater is very similar in appearance to M. nigripinnis. Both species are easily distinguished from all other Microglanis species by their color pattern, with most of the body black, except for two paler bands, and with the pectoral, ventral, anal, adipose and dorsal fins almost completely black. M. ater differs from M. nigripinnis mainly in the number of anal fin rays (15 vs 12) and in having a shorter dorsal spine (2.4 in predorsal length, vs. 1.52 to 1.75).
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Brazil.
IUCN Red List Category	Not Evaluated
Husbandry Information
Compatibility	Non aggressive and sociable with its own and other species.
Suggested Tankmates	Virtually all good community fish, although any young fry present in the aquarium will be in extreme jeopardy - especially after dark.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Zoologischer Anzeiger v. 116 (nos 3/4), pp 109.
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There is no record of this fish being seen.
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Last Update	2025 Jan 01 12:22 (species record created: 2011 Sep 18 01:19)