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Superregnum : Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Otomorpha
Subcohors: Ostariophysi
Sectio: Otophysa
Ordo: Siluriformes

Familia: Doradidae
Genus: Leptodoras
Species: L. acipenserinus – L. cataniai – L. copei – L. hasemani – L. juruensis – L. linnelli – L. marki – L. myersi – L. nelsoni – L. oyakawai – L. praelongus – L. rogersae
Name

Leptodoras Boulenger, 1898: 477

Type species: Oxydoras acipenserinus ♂ Günther, 1868. Type by subsequent designation.
References

Boulenger, G.A. 1898: Descriptions of two new siluroid fishes from Brazil. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 7) 2(12): 477–478.
Birindelli, J.L.O. & L.M. Sousa 2010: New species of the thorny catfish genus Leptodoras (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from Rio Fresco, Xingu Basin, Brazil. Copeia, 2010 (2): 292–299.

Vernacular names
English: Thorny Catfish

Leptodoras is a genus of thorny catfishes native to South America.

Taxonomy

Leptodoras is a monophyletic genus based on the single unique characteristic: presence of an infranuchal scute. This scute is the first in a series of well-developed midlateral scutes characteristic of most doradids.[1] It is one of the most derived genera within the clade of fimbriate-barbel doradids.[1] The most closely related genus to Leptodoras is Anduzedoras.[1]

This genus includes eleven species, making it the largest doradid genus.[1] There has been taxonomic confusion due to similarities of some species with each other and members of other genera. Misunderstood distributions and identities of some species added to this confusion. Most species were described from small geographic areas without information on their potential distributions. Also, specimens have been rare in museums until recently.[2] An assessment in 2005 diagnosed Leptodoras and its seven species while describing three new species.[2]
Species

There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus:[3]

Leptodoras acipenserinus (Günther, 1868)
Leptodoras cataniai Sabaj Pérez, 2005
Leptodoras copei (Fernández-Yépez, 1968)
Leptodoras hasemani (Steindachner, 1915)
Leptodoras juruensis Boulenger, 1898
Leptodoras linnelli C. H. Eigenmann, 1912
Leptodoras marki Birindelli & Sousa, 2010[4]
Leptodoras myersi J. E. Böhlke, 1970
Leptodoras nelsoni Sabaj Pérez, 2005
Leptodoras oyakawai Birindelli, Sousa & Sabaj Pérez, 2008[1]
Leptodoras praelongus (G. S. Myers & S. H. Weitzman, 1956)
Leptodoras rogersae Sabaj Pérez, 2005

Distribution

Leptodoras species are distributed in large, predominantly lowland rivers east of the Andes throughout the northern half of South America.[2] Species are distributed throughout lowlands in the Orinoco, Amazon, and Tocantins basins and several coastal river systems that enter the Atlantic between the mouths of the Orinoco and Amazon. Leptodoras is not known from west-Andean drainages or Atlantic-slope drainages south of the Tocantins.[2]

Description

Leptodoras is easily recognized by its long conical snout and well-developed oral hood formed by the membranous union of maxillary barbels, paired jaw barbels on the chin, and lip structures.[2] It has fimbriate barbels.
Ecology

Most species of Leptodoras are truly benthic and typically inhabit the deep swift-flowing waters of large rivers. Many species of Leptodoras migrate at dusk into shallow waters near shore to forage over beaches and shoals of sand or silt. Other species, such as L. juruensis and L. myersi, appear more restricted to deep channel habitats. Leptodoras species are not known from elevations exceeding 500 metres (1600 ft) above sea level and most records are from below 200 m (660 ft).[2]

The oral hood found in Leptodoras species presumably facilitates the detection and suction-feeding of shallowly buried invertebrates. Stomach contents typically include chironomid larvae, sand, and detritus.[2]
References

Birindelli, José L. O.; Sousa, Leandro M.; Sabaj Pérez, Mark H. (2008). "New species of thorny catfish, genus Leptodoras Boulenger (Siluriformes: Doradidae), from Tapajós and Xingu basins, Brazil". Neotropical Ichthyology. 6 (3): 465–480. doi:10.1590/S1679-62252008000300020.
Sabaj, Mark Henry (2005). "Taxonomic assessment of Leptodoras (Siluriformes: Doradidae) with descriptions of three new species" (PDF). Neotropical Ichthyology. 3 (4): 637–678. doi:10.1590/S1679-62252005000400020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). Species of Leptodoras in FishBase. December 2011 version.
Birindelli, José L. O.; Sousa, Leandro M. (2010). "New Species of the Thorny Catfish Genus Leptodoras (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from Rio Fresco, Xingu Basin, Brazil". Copeia. 2010 (2): 292–299. doi:10.1643/CI-09-153. S2CID 85401186.

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