↑ arvau

Wikipedia / Brochis

Brochis is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Callichthyidae, the armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Corydoradinae, the corys. Before the recent resurrection of the genus, these species were grouped in the genus Corydoras. The catfishes in this genus are found in South America.

Taxonomy

Brochis was erected by Edward Drinker Cope on 1871. Before 2024, it was in a limbo and considered defunct by most scientific authorities, being considered as a junior synonym or subgenus of Corydoras. It was formally resurrected and revalidated in a phylogenomic analysis carried out in 2024. B. difluviatilis is recognized as the basalmost species of Corydoradini, exhibiting several plesiomorphic features compared to the other species of Corydoras.

Etymology

The generic name, Brochis, is derived from the Greek meaning "loop", referring to the diagnostic arrangement of the barbels around the mouth.

Morphology

There are several morphological features that validate the usage of Brochis as a genus, such as a more lyre-like tail, and more decisively, the extended dorsal fins that have more rays than those of Corydoras. Corydoras have 7-10 rays on their dorsal fins, while Brochis have 10–18. The three species traditionally kept in the genus Brochis before its resurrection (B. splendens,B. britskii, and B. multiradiatus) are very large for their family, as several species can breach in length. Brochis splendens is the largest, attaining a maximum size of and .

Species

, there are 43 extant species in this genus (as recognized by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes):

References