Trichomycterus punctulatus
Species of fish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trichomycterus punctulatus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes.[2] This catfish is found in western Peru.[3] This elongated catfish can reach a length of 19.5 cm (7.7 in).[4]
| Trichomycterus punctulatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Trichomycteridae |
| Genus: | Trichomycterus |
| Species: | T. punctulatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichomycterus punctulatus Valenciennes, 1846[2] | |
Range, habitat and behavior
This nocturnal freshwater fish is endemic to western Peru, ranging at least from Lambayeque and Cajamarca[5] to Tacna.[6] It mostly lives in rivers and streams, but can also be found in habitats such as small lakes and paddy fields.[5] It is an opportunistic predator that mainly feeds on insects,[7] but also will take small crustaceans and plant material (algae and remains of phanerogams).[4]
Importance to humans
It is fished and plays an important role in the local cuisine in northern Peru, where this species is known as life, pronounced "lee-fey", or life monsefuano (dishes: panquitas de life or sudado de life).[5][8] Although it can be difficult to ascertain the exact species depicted in the artwork of the ancient Moche culture,[9] it was likely T. punctulatus that was important in their mythology where perhaps recognized as a connection between light and darkness.[4][5] In excavations of Huaca de la Luna, more than one-quarter of all fish bones were this species, revealing that it already played an important role as a food to the Moche.[8]