NEWS105
29
ynaptolaemus latofasciatus
AquariumGlasermanaged to import
some30specimensof thisunusual "striped
sock" from the Rio Ventuari in Venezuela.
The species – there is just the one in the
genus
Synaptolaemus
– was long known
under thename
S.cingulatus
,until Britzki et
al. recently discovered that the species
described as
Leporinus latofasciatus
by
Steindachner in 1910was identical with
S.
cingulatus
. Because
S. cingulatus
wasn’t
described until 40 years later, the Principle
ofPriorityappliesand theoldernamemust
beused in future.
S. latofasciatus
is found in theOrinoco, the
Casiquiare, the Rio Negro, the drainage of
the Rio Tapajos, and the upper Rio Xingu,
but it is thought that the species is
frequently overlooked and has an even
wider
distribution.
The
individual
S
The headstanders or Anastomidae, with some 12 genera and around 110
speciesknown,aredistributed inSouthAmerica.Thesearesmall tomedium-
sized species from thehuge characinassemblage,all of them specialized in
feedingonplants,Aufwuchs,ordetritus.Hencedelicateplantshavenoplace
in a headstander aquarium. Although some species are very colorful, and
others are notable for their unusual mode of swimming (the name
headstander is very appropriate), only a small number have become
established as aquarium fishes. But if specimens of rare species do reach
Europe they very quickly find buyers. Aquarium Glaser has recently been
able to importanumberof veryuncommon species.
Newheadstanders from
SouthAmerica
byWolfgangLöll
populations may differ somewhat in
coloration - the Ventuari fishes have the
highestpercentageof red inthebodyrings,
those from theXinguaremoreyellow -but
ingeneral Britski et al.were unable to find
Freshwater
Synaptolaemus latofasciatus
from theVentuari inVenezuela.
All photos:FrankSchäfer
Portraitof Synaptolaemus latofasciatus.
any differences that would justify the
descriptionofnew speciesor subspecies.
This extraordinary headstander grows to
around 10-12 cm long. It is specialized in
grazing the undersides of pieces of wood.
Like all headstanders the species is
somewhataggressive towardsconspecifics,
but several specimens can generally be
maintained together. The fairly large
numberofspecimensthatAquariumGlaser
was able to import made it possible to
deduce that males are somewhat smaller
anddaintier than females.These fisheshave
proved tonotbeparticularlydelicateunder
wholesaler conditions, though the species
needs to be kept somewhat warmer than
usual, with 24 °C the lower limit of the
recommended temperature range.
