Chiloglanidinae

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Chiloglanidinae
Indeterminate Chiloglanis species from the Congo.

Indefinite Chiloglanis species from the Congo.

Systematics
Overcohort : Clupeocephala
Cohort : Otomorpha
Sub-cohort : Ostariophysi
Order : Catfish (Siluriformes)
Family : Mochokidae
Subfamily : Chiloglanidinae
Scientific name
Chiloglanidinae
Riehl & Baensch , 1990

The Chiloglanidinae are a subfamily of the African catfish family Mochokidae . The Chiloglanidinae include all species of the Mochokidae, which - like the South American armored catfish (Loricariidae) or the Southeast Asian loach (Gyrinocheilidae) - have a sucking mouth with which the animals can suckle on the ground.

The cause for these adaptations was probably initially not the ingestion of food as a growth eater, but is to be sought in the adaptation to life in fast flowing waters. Only then did the larger Chiloglanidinae, which live in very fast flowing water, develop into nursery eaters.

Mouth of Chiloglanis sp. from the Congo

features

Chiloglanidinae have an elongated, often flattened body, adapted to life in rapids and fast-flowing waters, and are 3 to 22 cm long. The synapomorphies that are characteristic of the subfamily mainly affect the development of the sucking mouth. This includes a very large maxillary , only loosely connected tooth plates on the premaxillary and the inclusion of the outer lower barbels in the suction mouth. The pores of the sensory system on the lower jaw are absent in Chiloglanis and are reduced to two on each side in Atopodontis , Atopochilus and Euchilichthys . The front edge of the pelvic fin ray is unsawn, but in all other Mochokidae it is strongly sawn. In Chiloglanis (sensu stricto) the trailing edge is also unsawed, in the others it is reduced, in Atopochilus savorgnani and Euchilichthys dybowskii, secondarily, strongly sawn again. Most species of the Chiloglanidinae have only five or six flexible fin rays in the dorsal fin, Atopochilus savorgnani and Euchilichthys dybowskii seven, like most other Mochokidae. A reduced number of dorsal fin rays is also found in some species of the genus Zwergfiederbartwelse ( Microsynodontis ) and in Mochokus brevis .

Euchilichthys sp. from the Congo

Genera

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