Batfish the Catfish - a catfish named after batman

Within Neotropical Ichthyology 4 (4): 379-383, 2006 a new species of catfish is described.

Otocinclus batmani, a new species of hypoptopomatine catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from Columbia and Peru - Pablo Lehmann

From the description by Lehmann:

"A new species of the hypoptopomatine catfish genus Otocinclus is described from two localities in the upper Rio Amazonas basin: a tributary of the Rio Pure in Columbia and two tributaries to the Rio Amazonas near Iquitos in Peru. The new taxon can be easily distinguished from all congeners, except Otocinclus cocama, by having a single, intensely pigmented, vertical W-shaped caudal fin spot and by having three discrete dark bands on dorsum, between the dorsal-fin base and the caudal fin. Otocinclus batmani differs from O. cocama by the abscence of vertically elongated blotches from the dorsal midline to the ventral border of flank, and by lacking a psterior extension of black pigmentation on the base of two central caudal-fin rays. Phylogenetic relationships of the new species are investigated and it is possibly more closely related to a clade formed by O. huaorani, O. mariae, O. bororo, O. mura and O. cocama."

Ok, very nice, a new catfish. Now for the kicker.... from page 381 of the journal:

Etymology. The name batmani, alludes to Bob Kane's hero Batman of the comic adventures, which had a bat shape for his symbol, referring to the single W-or bat-shaped vertical spot on the caudal-fin.

Batfish the Catfish

Craig Heinselman
Peterborough, NH