Ancistrus galani[1] is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs only in Los Laureles Cave, at an elevation of 650 m (2,130 ft) above sea level, in the Socuy River basin, which is part of the Lake Maracaibo drainage system in the state of Zulia in Venezuela. The species reaches 5.6 cm (2.2 in) SL and was named after Carlos Galan, a Venezuelan speleologist.[2] A. galani differs from most Ancistrus species (except for other cave-dwelling species like A. cryptophthalmus or A. formoso) in having an unpigmented body, atrophied or entirely absent eyes, and highly reduced ocular orbits, which are all thought to be adaptations to its dark subterranean habitat and stygobitic lifestyle.[3]
| Ancistrus galani | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Genus: | Ancistrus |
| Species: | A. galani
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| Binomial name | |
| Ancistrus galani Perez and Viloria, 1994
| |
References edit
- ^ "Ancistrus galani". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2021). "Ancistrus galani" in FishBase. 2021 version.
- ^ Perez, Alfredo; Viloria, Ángel (January 1994). "Ancistrus galani n. sp. (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), with comments on biospeleological explorations in western Venezuela". Mémoires de Biospéologie. 21 – via ResearchGate.
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