Lacantunia enigmatica Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Chiapas catfish (Lacantunia enigmatica) is an unusual species of catfish (order Siluriformes) from the Usumacinta River basin in the Mexican state of Chiapas and in Guatemala. It was scientifically described in 2005 and placed in its own family Lacantuniidae. While discovery of an undescribed species of catfish is not uncommon, discovery of a new family of any vertebrate group is a rare event. The Chiapas catfish mainly feeds on crabs, prawns, small fish, and large, tough plant seeds. This catfish is commonly fished in its natural habitat, where it is known as madre de juil, which means "mother of Rhamdia" (a common fish in the area).
Wikipedia contributors, Chiapas catfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:58:54.864456+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lacantunia enigmatica Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
- Name authority
- Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Lacantuniidae
- Genus
- Lacantunia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyLacantuniidae Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
- genusLacantunia Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
- speciesLacantunia enigmatica Rodiles-Hernández, Hendrickson & Lundberg, 2005
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Rodiles-Hernández, R., Hendrickson, D. A., Lundberg, J. G., & Humphries, J. M. (2005). Lacantunia enigmatica (Teleostei: Siluriformes) a new and phylogenetically puzzling freshwater fish from Mesoamerica. Zootaxa, 1000. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1000.1.1 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3RLCP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.