Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) > Hypostominae
Etymology: Baryancistrus: Greek, barys = heavy + Greek, agkistron = hook (Ref. 45335); xanthellus: The specific name is from the Greek 'xanthellus', meaning yellow, in reference to the bright color of the species. A noun in apposition.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
South America: Volta Grande do rio Xingu, an area immediately above Belo Monte falls, and rio Iriri, the larger tributary of rio Xingu in Brazil.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 29.7 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 111518); max. published weight: 510.00 g (Ref. 111518)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal soft rays: 5. Distinguished from all its congeners by the presence of broad light band on dorsal and caudal
fin distal borders in juveniles, becoming a small dot on dorsal and caudal-fin tips in adults. In addition, this can be separated from all other congeners by the combination of the following characters: presence of light spots on the whole body; naked abdomen; around 60 mandibullary teeth on both maxillae; and presence of bold yellow markings in young individuals, a reason for its popular name in the aquarium trade 'amarelinho' in Portuguese (meaning little yellow) (Ref. 87296).
Young individuals form groups of several individuals under flat rocks at the bottom of shallow rapid stretches. Adults occur in larger spaces among and under submerged boulders. Based on three specimens, this species feeds mainly on algae and occasionally on bryozoans and chironomid larvae (Ref. 87296).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Rapp Py-Daniel, L.H., J. Zuanon and R. Ribeiro de Oliveira, 2011. Two new ornamental loricariid catfishes of Baryancistrus from rio Xingu drainage (Siluriformes: Hypostominae). Neotrop. Ichthyol. 9(2):241-252. (Ref. 87296)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01549 (0.00835 - 0.02874), b=3.01 (2.86 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (20 of 100).