Ellopostoma

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Ellopostoma
Ellopostoma megalomycter from the first description by Léon Vaillant.

Ellopostoma megalomycter from the first description by Léon Vaillant .

Systematics
Sub-cohort : Ostariophysi
without rank: Otophysa
Order : Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination : Loach- like (Cobitoidei)
Family : Ellopostomatidae
Genre : Ellopostoma
Scientific name of the  family
Ellopostomatidae
Bohlen & Šlechtová , 2009
Scientific name of the  genus
Ellopostoma
Vaillant , 1902

Ellopostoma (= " sturgeon maul") is a genus of the loach- like (Cobitoidea) and the only genus of the monotypical family Ellopostomatidae. The fish live in rivers in the south of Thailand ( Tapi river system in Surat Thani province and Mae Nam Phanang river system in Nakhon Si Thammarat province ) and on Kalimantan ( Kapuas system).

features

Ellopostoma species are 4.9 to 7 inches long. They differ from other loaches mainly in their unusual, underneath and protruding mouth (similar to that of the sturgeon). The throat is very narrow. They have a pair of barbels (most other loaches have at least three pairs), and their eyes and nostrils are very large.

Way of life

Ellopostoma species can be found in fast-flowing streams and over well-watered sandy soils in the middle of larger rivers. Their habitat is devoid of vegetation. They feed on bentic (bottom dwelling) microfauna, small invertebrates, algae and detritus . According to aquarium observations, they are extremely sluggish.

Systematics

Until recently, Ellopostoma was assigned to the fin suckers (Balitoridae). Recently, based on molecular biological data, they have been placed in a separate family, the Ellopostomatidae, as the sister group of the brook loaches (Nemacheilidae).

The systematic position is illustrated by the following cladogram (after Bohlen & Šlechtová, 2009, and Chen et al., 2009):

  Carp-like (Cypriniformes)  

 ? Suckers (Catostomidae)


   

 Loaches  sensu lato  (Cobitoidea)  

 ? Suckers (Catostomidae)


   

 Sucking Loaches (Gyrinocheilidae)


   

 Clown loaches (Botiidae)


   

 Longfin loaches (Vaillantellidae)


   

 Loaches or loaches sensu stricto (Cobitidae)


   

 Fin Sucker (Balitoridae)


   

 "Malfunctioning mouths" (Ellopostomatidae)


   

 Brook loaches (Nemacheilidae)










   

 Carp fish (Cyprinoidea)




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species

Two types have been described so far:

literature

  • Jörg Bohlen, Vendula Šlechtová: Phylogenetic position of the fish genus Ellopostoma (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) using molecular genetic data. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. Vol. 20, No. 2, 2009, pp. 157–162 ( PDF ; 1.8 MB)
  • W.-J. Chen, V. Lheknim, RL Mayden: Molecular phylogeny of the Cobitoidea (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) revisited: position of enigmatic loach Ellopostoma resolved with six nuclear genes. Journal of Fish Biology. Vol. 75, No. 9, 2009 pp. 2197-2208, doi : 10.1111 / j.1095-8649.2009.02398.x

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