Another L-number has received a correct scientific description finally: L24. The beautiful orange finned cactus pleco from the Rio Tocantins is named now Pseudacanthicus pitanga. The specific name “pitanga” is from the Tupi-Guarini language and means “red” in allusion to the colour of the fins.
The scientific paper also discusses the risks of using this fish for the ornamental fish industry. The scientist states that this kind of use is
no danger for wild populations. The only real danger for Pseudacanthicus pitanga are hydroelectric dams that change the water body in a way that it is destroyed for fish that are specialized in fast flowing waters, like L24. However, due to the very wide distribution of P. pitanga in the Tocantins the species is currently not endangered at all.
Literature: Chamon, C. C. (2015): Pseudacanthicus pitanga: a new species of Ancestrini (SIluriformes: Loricariidae: Hypostominae) from rio Tocantins Basin, North Brazil. Zootaxa 3973 (2): 309-320
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
