Genus
Centromochlus
- Species
- 2
- Photographed
- 2 of 2
- Difficulty rated
- 2 of 2
Where the name comes fromEdit
from the Ancient Greek κεντέω (kentéo), meaning 'sting, prick' and μοχλός (mochlós), meaning 'lever', in reference to the prominent pectoral-fin spines in members of this genus.
Centromochlus perugiaeOil Catfish
authority not recorded
The oil catfish, Centromochlus perugiae, is a small auchenipterid catfish from Peru and Ecuador. It lives around the shorelines of swift-flowing rivers with sandy substrates and no aquatic plants. By day it squeezes into spaces little bigger than itself, emerging in the evening to feed close to the surface in the flow. It breeds quite easily given strong flow and plenty of small crevices.
Centromochlus reticulatusReticulated Driftwood Catfish
Mees, 1974
The reticulated driftwood catfish, Centromochlus reticulatus, is a small auchenipterid first known from the upper Rupununi River basin in Guyana. Its secretive, mostly nocturnal habits mean it may have been overlooked elsewhere, and it has been recorded from the rio Preto da Eva near Manaus, Brazil. Sometimes traded as 'purple oil catfish', it is highly gregarious and ideally kept in groups of at least eight.