Pterygoplichthys ambrosettii facts for kids

The Pterygoplichthys ambrosettii, also known as the snow king pleco, is a type of armored catfish. It lives in the freshwaters of south-central South America.

Where This Fish Lives

This fish lives in the Río Plata basin. You can find it in rivers like the Paraguay, Middle Paraná, Bermejo, and Uruguay rivers. It lives in countries such as Paraguay, Bolivia, northern Argentina, and western Uruguay. It's a common fish in the lower Paraná freshwater area.

How It Spread to New Places

Originally, the snow king pleco did not live in the upper Paraná River. But a big dam called Itaipu was built. This dam caused floods that removed natural barriers like the Sete Quedas waterfalls. Because of this, the fish was able to move into new areas it didn't live in before.

About Its Name

This fish was first described in 1893 by an Argentine doctor, naturalist, and writer named Eduardo Ladislao Holmberg. He gave it the scientific name Liposarcus ambrosettii. He found the first samples in the Paraguay River, near the city of Formosa. This fish belongs to a group of catfish called Hypostominae.

What the Name Means

The name Pterygoplichthys comes from three Greek words. Pterygion means 'fin', hoplon means 'weapon', and ichthys means 'fish'. So, it means something like 'fish with armed fins'. The second part of the name, ambrosettii, honors another Argentine naturalist named Juan Bautista Ambrosetti.

History of Its Scientific Name

For a while, another name, Pterygoplichthys anisitsi, was often used for this fish. It was described in 1903 by Carl H. Eigenmann and Clarence Hamilton Kennedy. Holmberg's earlier description was not well known at first. However, scientists later realized that Holmberg's name, P. ambrosettii, was the oldest and therefore the correct one. So, P. anisitsi is now considered an older, incorrect name for the same fish.

See also

In Spanish: Pterygoplichthys ambrosettii para niños