Cetopsis motatanensis

Cetopsis motatanensis
Photos by Britt Griswold
Reproduced from Vari, Ferraris and de Pinna (2005).

Cetopsis motatanensis (Schultz, 1944)

Identification: Cetopsis motatanensis can be distinguished from all of its congeners by the combination of the presence of an eye, the conical teeth on the vomer and dentary, the rounded posterior nares that is distinctly separated from the contralateral nares by a distance greater than the width of the posterior nares, the absence of a dark humeral spot, the absence of a posteriorly-rounded, variably-developed, bilobed patch of dark pigmentation at the base of the caudal fin, the absence of dark pigmentation on the distal portions of the pelvic and anal fins, the caudal fin darkly pigmented throughout other than for the narrow pale distal margin, and the possession of 18 to 20 preanal vertebrae, 15 to 17 precaudal vertebrae, 33 to 35 caudal vertebrae, 48 to 50 total vertebrae, and 9 pectoral-fin rays. Maximum size: 155 mm SL.

Range: Cetopsis motatanensis is endemic to the rivers of the Lago Maracaibo basin of northwestern Venezuela and northeastern Colombia.

Information from Vari, R. P., C. J. Ferraris Jr. & M. C. C. de Pinna. 2005. The Neotropical whale catfishes (Siluriformes: Cetopsidae: Cetopsinae), a revisionary study. Neotropical Ichthyology 3:127-238.

Cetopsis motatanensis map
Distribution Map