Eremophilus mutisii Humboldt, 1805

Open encyclopedia reference

Eremophilus is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes, the only species in the genus is Eremophilus mutisii. This fish grows to about 30 centimetres (12 in) and originates from the Bogotá River basin, which is a tributary of the Magdalena River. It has probably been introduced to Ubaté, Chiquinquirá, and Tundama valleys, Colombia.

E. mutisii uses the vascularized central portion of its stomach for aerial respiration. Air ventilation takes place during a rapid dash to the surface with the expiration of old air preceding inspiration. Air-breathing occurs in hypoxic and normoxic water, but is not obligatory. The evolution of a reduced swimbladder is associated with a benthic mode of life in E. mutisii.

This fish species is an excellent food fish. It is the only species of food fish which has been able to survive competition from introduced trout and carp species into the region.

Wikipedia contributors, Eremophilus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:29:07.790437+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Eremophilus mutisii Humboldt, 1805

Name authority

Humboldt, 1805

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Siluriformes

Family

Trichomycteridae

Genus

Eremophilus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderSiluriformes
11. familyTrichomycteridae Bleeker, 1858
12. subfamilyTrichomycterinae Bleeker, 1858
13. genusEremophilus Humboldt, 1805
14. speciesEremophilus mutisii Humboldt, 1805

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 309 records assigned to Trichomycteridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. Humboldt, F. H. A. von. (1805). Mémoire sur l’Eremophilus et Astroblepus, deux nouveaux genres de l’ordre des apodes. In: Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland, Deuxième Partie. Observations de Zoologie et d’Anatomie Comparée. Paris., v. 1: 17–20, Pls. 6–7. [Date from Sherborn 1899, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (Ser. 7) v. 3:428.]. 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:6GFSV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.