L 200 and L 200a

16. March 2011

Very much sought for is L200 from Venezuela that attains a maximum length of about 20 cm. Actually, there are two mimetic species that hide behind that L-number, which are often confused, although they belong to even different genera. The real L200 is has been described as Hemiancistrus subviridis. It can be easily recognized by the big gap between the end of the dorsal fin and the beginning of the adipose fin. The second species – called L200 Highfin or L200a in the trade – has been formally deescribed as Baryancistrus demantoides. In this species dorsal and adipose fin are connected. The depth of the dorsal fin is variable and of no use for differentiation of the species. Both L200 are omnivorous with a large compound of vegetarian food.

For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 200 (Hemiancistrus subviridis) and 26480-L 200A (Baryancistrus demantoides) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Hemiancistrus: ancient Greek, means “half an Ancistrus”; Ancistrus is another genus of catfish. Baryancistrus: ancient Greek, means “heavy Ancistrus”; Ancistrus is another genus of catfish. demantoides: ancient Greek, means “looks like a demantoid”; a demantoid is a garnet “that ranges in color from yellowish green to brownish green” (Werneke et al., 2005). subviridis: Latin, means “greenish”.

Suggestion of a common name: the terms L200 for Hemiancistrus subviridis and L200 Highfin for Baryancistrus demantoides are so much in use that it makes no sense to replace them.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Literature:
Werneke, D. C., Sabaj, M. H., Lujan, N. K. & J. W. Armbruster (2005): Baryancistrus dematoides and Hemiancistrus subviridis, two new uniquely colored species of catfish from Venezuela (Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Neotropical Ichthyology 3 (4): 533-542

Angaben zum Tier
Herkunft Kolumbien / Colombia
Verfügbare Größe in cm 8-10