Acanthobunocephalus nicoi Friel, 1995
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
Acanthobunocephalus nicoi is one of two species of catfish (order Siluriformes) in the genus Acanthobunocephalus of the family Aspredinidae. This species is known from only three localities and appears to be restricted to the upper Orinoco River system of Venezuela and possibly the upper Rio Negro system of Brazil.
Acanthobunocephalus nicoi can be differentiated from other aspredinids by the presence of a dorsal fin spine locking mechanism and a rigid dorsal fin spine. The lateral line is truncated at about the dorsal fin level. The head is depressed and the caudal peduncle is slender, tapering to the caudal fin. The mouth is terminal, with the jaws and lips equal. The dorsal and anal fin membranes are not adnate with the body. These fish reach sexual maturity at just over 16 millimetres (.63 in) SL, and have not been observed to exceed 20 mm (.79 in) SL.
This species is found in flooded plants, primarily grasses and sedges, in black water (stained by tannin).
Wikipedia contributors, Acanthobunocephalus nicoi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:55:53.847633+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Acanthobunocephalus nicoi Friel, 1995
- Name authority
- Friel, 1995
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Aspredinidae
- Genus
- Acanthobunocephalus
- 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
- familyAspredinidae Adams, 1854
- genusAcanthobunocephalus Friel, 1995
- speciesAcanthobunocephalus nicoi Friel, 1995
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.
- Friel, J. P. (1995). Acanthobunocephalus nicoi, a new genus and species of miniature banjo-catfish from the upper Orinoco and Casiquiare rivers, Venezuela (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 6. 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:64D55. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.