‘Armored’ creature — with ‘spoon-shaped’ teeth — found in river. It’s a new species
In a muddy river of eastern Ecuador, an “armored” creature swam along searching for wood debris to sink its “spoon-shaped” teeth into — or at least, that’s what it tried to do.
Visiting researchers pulled the spotted animal from the river. They didn’t realize it at the time, but they’d just discovered a new species.
Years later, researchers decided to study the fish specimens of a museum archive in Quito, according to a study published June 4 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. As they sifted through the catfish specimens collected between 1989 and 2007, they encountered several unfamiliar-looking animals.
Researchers took a closer look and realized they’d discovered two new species of “armored” catfish, the study said.
The first was named Panaqolus orcesi, or Orces’ armored catfish, researchers said. These catfish are considered “medium-sized,” reaching just over 7 inches in length. They have “robust” gray bodies covered in “plates” and “cream-colored dots.” Their teeth are “spoon-shaped” and used for eating wood.
Researchers said they named the new species after Gustavo Orces because “of his extensive contributions to the knowledge (of) vertebrate biodiversity in Ecuador.”
A photo shows an Orces’ armored catfish next to the second new species: Panaqolus pantostiktos, or the spotted-armored catfish.
Spotted-armored catfish are also considered “medium-sized,” reaching about 6.4 inches in length, the study said. Their “robust” brown bodies are covered in “yellow or golden” polka dots. Like the other new species, their teeth are “spoon-shaped.”
Researchers said they named the new species after the Greek words “pantoú,” meaning “everywhere,” and “stiktós,” meaning “spotted,” because of its color pattern.
So far, the new species have been found in the Napo and Tigre rivers of eastern Ecuador, the study said. These rivers are part of the Amazonian basin and near the border with Peru.
“We anticipate that ongoing exploration of such habitats in Ecuador and adjacent regions will lead to discovery of additional new Panaqolus (catfish) species,” researchers said.
The new species were identified by their coloring, teeth, body shape, size and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not provide a DNA analysis of the new species.
The research team included Francisco Provenzano-Rizzi, Ramiro Barriga-Salazar and Donald Stewart.
This story was originally published June 11, 2024 at 8:57 AM with the headline "‘Armored’ creature — with ‘spoon-shaped’ teeth — found in river. It’s a new species."
