Phreatobius sanguijuela

Taxobox
name = "Phreatobius sanguijuela"
status =
status_system =
status_ref =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Siluriformes
familia = "incertae sedis"
genus = "Phreatobius"
species = "P. sanguijuela"
binomial = "Phreatobius sanguijuela"
binomial_authority = Fernandez, Saucedo, Carvajal-Vallejos & Schaefer, 2007

"Phreatobius sanguijuela" is a species of catfish in the genus "Phreatobius".cite journal|title=A new phreatic catfish of the genus "Phreatobius" Goeldi 1905 from groundwaters of the Iténez River, Bolivia (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae)|first=Luis|last=Fernandez|coauthors=Saucedo, Lisandro J.; Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M.; Schaefer, Scott A.|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1626|pages=51–58|year=2007]

This species was discovered in a hand-dug well in located within the Río Paraguá drainage, a tributary of the Río Iténez in Bolivia. This species is endangered by environmental degradation due to pollution, water extraction for drinking and irrigation, mineral extraction, and associated erosion. It is often killed when accidentally caught from wells because of a superficial resemblance to leeches.

This small fish reaches a maximum length of 4.2 centimetres (1.6 in) SL. "P. sanguijuela" differs from "P. cisternarum" in a number of ways, but the main differences are the absence of eyes (which are present in "P. cisternarum").

References