Newly Discovered Wood-Eating Catfish

Below is an interesting article which contains the following quote "On average, over 100 species per year have been discovered. This year alone, 69 new species have been described thus far."

I had heard numbers like this for deep sea discoveries though I had no idea the same rate of discovery was occurring in freshwater as well. Sadly the regions with the greatest variety of life are the ones most at risk from development and misuse.

Newly Discovered Wood-Eating Catfish Has Spoon-Shaped Teeth



Turns out deep sea crabs aren't the only underwater wildlife to eat wood. An Amazonian armored catfish does too. A new species with teeth shaped like spoons for scooping up wood from fallen logs has been discovered by freshwater scientist Paulo Petry in the Fitzgarald arch, a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon. And, in what seems to be the daily narrative of newly discovered species, it is already under threat from development.

The Nature Conservancy reports that the new species was caught at the confluence of the Purus and Curanja rivers. The armored catfish, unique to South America, are relatively specialized. But only a small group of catfish species -- around 10 of them -- will eat wood.

According to Petry, "There are 4,700 freshwater fish species in South America right now. On average, over 100 species per year have been discovered. This year alone, 69 new species have been described thus far. These numbers show very clearly that we are far from knowing the number of freshwater species in South America."

And yet, development in the Amazon could threaten the existence of many of the species. There are several proposed infrastructure development projects, including roads which will also bring lumber extraction, cattle ranching and slash-and-burn agriculture. While the indigenous communities object to the roads, the government seems set on moving forward with them. It's especially unnerving because, as Petry states, this is still one of the most pristine areas of rainforest left on earth. And it has wood-eating catfish! Who could destroy that?

That thing is just ugly!!

wow........didn't know there were that many new discoveries in freshwater! .......that wood-eating catfish looks kinda like a sea serpent! ....a little ugly but also pretty darn cool!!! I wonder how many more of them are in the waters?

Man thats a pretty wild looking fish.

The part about this story that really gets me is the vast number of species we have yet to discover and then I have to wonder how many will never be discovered alive due to our neglect of the environment.

me too jason.....it saddens me to be reminded of the downward spiral we're creating for our fresh and salt water friends

Looks like a BIG pleco to me....