Rhizosomichthys totae
Encyclopedia
Rhizosomichthys totae is a species
of catfish
(order
Siluriformes) of the family
Trichomycteridae
, and the only species of the genus
Rhizosomichthys. This fish grows to about 13.8 centimetres (5.4 in) and originates from the Lake Tota
basin. It is listed as an extinct
species by the IUCN Red List
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
(order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Siluriformes) of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Trichomycteridae
Trichomycteridae
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as the pencil or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the infamous candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans....
, and the only species of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Rhizosomichthys. This fish grows to about 13.8 centimetres (5.4 in) and originates from the Lake Tota
Lake Tota
Lake Tota is the largest lake in Colombia, located in the east of Boyacá department. It has an area of 55 km² and a depth of 60 meters.The major town on the lake is Aquitania, located on its eastern side. Other nearby villages include Tota, Iza and Cuitiva. Lake Tota was an important religious...
basin. It is listed as an extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
species by the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
.