Niobichthys ferrarisi Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998
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
Niobichthys is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armored catfishes, and the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos. The only species in the genus is Niobichthys ferrarisi, a catfish which is endemic to Venezuela. It is only known to occur in the Baria River, a tributary of the Rio Negro in Amazonas state, where it is found in rocky rapids. This species reaches a standard length of 7 cm (2.8 in).
Niobichthys suffixes -ichthys, Greek for "fish", onto Niobe, a figure from Greek mythology whose children were killed by Apollo causing her to turned to stone by Zeus and moved to a mountain peak, which remained eternally wet with her tears. This is a reference to the clouds surrounding Cerra La Neblina, this species' type locality. The Specific named honors the American ichthyologist Carl J. Ferraris Jr., co-discoverer of this species when on an expedition to the Cerr La Neblina in 1984, in recognition of his work on catfish taxonomy and Neotropical ichthyology.
Wikipedia contributors, Niobichthys; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:20:55.767733+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Niobichthys ferrarisi Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998
- Name authority
- Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Loricariidae
- Genus
- Niobichthys
- 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
- familyLoricariidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyHypoptopomatinae Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890
- genusNiobichthys Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998
- speciesNiobichthys ferrarisi Schaefer & Provenzano, 1998
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.
- Schaefer, S. A., & Provenzano, F. (1998). Niobichthys ferrarisi, a new genus and species of armored catfish from southern Venezuela (Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 8 (3): 221–230. 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:47FMH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.