 Pirá-tamanduá, Conorhynchos conirostris, drawing by Paulo Henrique Fiote (edited)
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IntroductionPirá-tamanduá (short form: pirá), Conorhynchos conirostris (Valenciennes, 1840), is a large freshwater, migratory catfish (order Siluriformes) endemic to the São Francisco river in Brazil (the fourth longest river in South America, nicknamed ‘Velho Chico’, with 113 endemic species) and is considered a symbol of the river.
Etymology: The generic name Conorhynchos is refering to the long snout of pirá-tamanduá: Latin, conicus = cone, and Greek, rhungchos = snout. The species name conirostris has the same relation: Latin, conus = cone; -rostris = -billed. The Portuguese name tamanduá means 'anteater' and is refering to the elongated snout of the fish as well.
The spelling of the generic name has been confused (name often misspelled Conorhynchus); it is currently valid as Conorhynchos as described by Pieter Bleeker in 1858.
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Distribution
Conorhynchos conirostris is endemic to the São Francisco river basin in Brazil and there inhabits deep channels of regions with strong current. Recent and most significant records come from the mid-high São Francisco, from downstream of the UHE (usina hidroelétrica = hydroelectric power plant) Três Marias dam to the backwater of the UHE Sobradinho. Pirá occurs in the main course of the São Francisco river as well as in its major tributaries. It occurs in certain abundance in the lower reaches of the Paracatu and Urucuia rivers, where it is most frequently captured during the reproductive period.
Conorhynchos conirostris specimens are no longer captured in collections from the upper São Francisco river, above the UHE Três Marias dam.

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 Geographic Range of Conorhynchos conirostris. Click to enlarge!
Taxonomy
This catfish has unknown relationships. Conorhynchos conirostris does not share known synapomorphies with any single current catfish family, so it does not appear to be assignable to any family and is placed incertae sedis (Latin for 'of uncertain placement').
However, it has been grouped into the large neotropical superfamily Pimelodoidea (long-whiskered catfishes; containing the families Pimelodidae (long-whiskered catfishes in the narrower sense), Pseudopimelodidae (bumblebee catfishes) and Heptapteridae (three-barbeled catfishes)) due to molecular evidence as well as the development of commissural folds and similarities in the pharyngeal dental apparatus.
➜ Kingdom: Animalia ➜ Phylum: Chordata ➜ Subphylum: Vertebrata ➜ Infraphylum: Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) ➜ Superclass: Osteichthyes (bony fish) ➜ Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) ➜ Infraclass: Teleostei (teleosts) ➜ Cohort: Otocephala (Otomorpha) ➜ Order: Siluriformes (catfishes) ➜ Superfamily: Pimelodoidea (long-whiskered catfishes) ➜ Family: incertae sedis ➜ Genus: Conorhynchos (a monotypic genus) ➜ Species: Conorhynchos conirostris
Some morphological evidences point to the hypothesis that Conorhynchos conirostris is a member of the suborder Doradoidei (containing the families Mochokidae (squeakers), Auchenipteridae (driftwood catfishes) and Doradidae (thorny catfishes)).
Synonyms:
– Conorhynchus conirostris
– Conorynchus conirostris
– Conorhynchus glaber
– Pimelodus conirostris
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Conservation statusPirá-tamanduá is of commercial interest, and is listed as threatened in the red lists of both Brazil and the state of Minas Gerais. Although fishing for pirá has been prohibited, it is still an important fishery resource, particularly in the middle São Francisco river.
It has a clear population decline as a result of environmental changes in drainage, fishing pressure and especially the construction of large dams, particularly in the lower São Francisco river (the basin includes more than 33 reservoirs). It is estimated that the population has declined at least 50% in size over the last 30 years. This period coincides with the construction of the large hydroelectric plants on the lower São Francisco river.
Pirá, Conorhynchos conirostris, has been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018. It is listed as Endangered under criteria A2cd and B2ab(iii)c(ii).
A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
The IUCN Red List five criteria are:
A. Declining population (past, present and/or projected)
B. Geographic range size, and fragmentation, decline or fluctuations
C. Small population size and fragmentation, decline, or fluctuations
D. Very small population or very restricted distribution
E. Quantitative analysis of extinction risk (e.g., Population Viability Analysis)
The criterion A2 indicates that the taxon has declined by more than 50% in the last 10 years or three generations and the subcriteria indicate that the decline in mature individuals has been caused by a decline in the quality of habitat as well as actual levels of exploitation.
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 Map of São Francisco river basin showing major rivers, municipalities and dams. Click to enlarge!
1 = São Francisco River, 2 = Pará River, 3 = Paraopeba River, 4 = Velhas River, 5 = Paracatu River, 6 = Sono River, 7 = Preto River, 8 = Verde Grande River, 9 = Urucuia River, 10 = Pandeiros River, 11 = Carinhanha River, 12 = Corrente River, and 13 = Grande River
 Pirá is listed as Endangered. Click to enlarge!
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Pirá, the symbol of the São Francisco river basin (BHSF, Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio São Francisco)
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Way of life
The rheophil (prefering to live in fast-moving water), demersal living (living and feeding on or near the bottom of their habitat) pirá is also known as pirá-tamanduá as it has a snout that resembles that of the anteater (suborder Vermilingua) and allows it to efficiently capture invertebrates – mainly molluscs, insect larvae, worms and small crustaceans – that live in the substrate of the São Francisco river bed, its tributaries and marginal lakes. But Conorhynchos conirostris is not an entire invertivore (feeding only on invertebrates) as it also feeds on small fish.
Around 8% of the fish species in the São Francisco basin undergo spawning migrations. Pirá-tamanduá is one of this migratory species and is placed in Balon's non-guarder, open substratum, pelagophil (spawning in the open sea) reproductive guild. Its spawning and nursery grounds remain largely unknown.
A female can produce, in each spawn, from 0.5 to 1 million eggs. Unlike the most well-known migratory fishes of the São Francisco river, pirá does not use floodplain lakes as nurseries. Pirá, like other neotropical migratory fishes, is pelagophilic, iteroparous (reproducing multiple times) and a group-synchronous spawner, with high fecundity and small, semi-buoyant (partially floating) free eggs that hatch in about 20 h.
To work against its near extinction the fish are bred in captivity to finally be placed in the river, as technicians of the Codevasf (Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaíba = Development Company of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys) were able to master the technology of artificial reproduction.
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Description
Pirá-tamanduá, Conorhynchos conirostris, is a large long-nosed, migratory catfish. It is distinct from other catfish by its blue soft skin and the lack of dorsal flattening. It is an evolutionarily divergent and relict species, being the sole representative of an incertae sedis family.
The fish can reach 53.5 centimetres (21.1 in) in standard length (sometimes you get the information that the species reaches a maximum length of about one meter) and 13 kilograms (29 lb) in weight. It is the third largest fish of the São Francisco river basin.
Conorhynchos conirostris has a long, conical snout. The sensitive barbels that it has under its mouth are very short and almost form a kind of goatee. The inferior mouth has thick, wrinkled lips that can be protruded and curled outward when at rest. The gill trap has numerous, closely spaced thorns that cross over and form a kind of filter. Such anatomical characteristics represent adaptations to the benthophagous feeding habit, with substrate ingestion. There are no teeth located on the palate and jaw.
The flesh of Conorhynchos conirostris is white and has no spines, which makes it ideal for trade.
Conorhynchos conirostris has anastomosing tubular testis that are characterized by filiform lobes and absence of testicular secretion; full-grown oocytes of small diameter, thin zona radiata, and cuboidal follicular cells.
Pirá-tamanduá has spines on its pectoral fins and dorsal fin. The number of spokes is: D: 7 (1.6) (not 8!); P.: 11-12; V.: 6; A.: 18-20 (3.15 or 3.17, the last deeply forked ray).
Karyological information: The diploid chromosome number of pirá-tamanduá is 60 (Karyotype formula: 20m+18sm +10st +12a).
Conorhynchos conirostris is a leathery, bluish-white fish, which, due to its beauty, is in great demand for aquariophilia (practice of raising fish, plants and other aquatic organisms in aquariums).
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Aquarium care
Conorhynchos conirostris is not imported very often so there is not too much information on keeping this species in the aquarium. It will grow large and is probably not suitable for most tanks unless by an experienced big catfish keeper. Pirá-tamanduá has a peaceful behavior and prefers waters with a temperature between 22 and 27 °C.
The reproduction of pirá has only occurred artificially, in the laboratory.
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Conorhynchos conirostris, x-ray lateral image with scale bar. Click to enlarge!
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Parasites
Brasil-Sato and Dos Santos investigated the metazoan parasites of Conorhynchos conirostris in 2005. Of the 24 pirás collected, 12 (50%) were parasitized by at least one species of parasite.
Nine species of parasites were encountered: Helobdella sp. (Hirudinea, leeches), Creptotrema creptotrema (Trematoda: Digenea), Palaeocryptogonimus claviformis (Trematoda: Digenea), metacercariae of Clinostomum sp. (Trematoda: Digenea) and of Austrodiplostomum compactum (Trematoda: Digenea), Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sp. (Nematoda; young specimen); larvae of Anisakidae (Nematoda) and Rhabdochona sp. (Nematoda), and Neoechinorhynchus sp. (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchidae; young specimen).
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Photo of pirá-tamanduá by Fish Magazine TW, labeled with a synonymous generic name.
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Last update:
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contact: peixe@pira-tamandua.com
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visitors since 2022-05-17
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References
Articles
– Alves, C.B.M, and dos Santos Pompeu, P: Peixes do Rio das Velhas: Passado e Presente; January 2010, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, http://lilith.fisica.ufmg.br/~lpv/.livro/livro.html
– Bleeker, Pieter. 1858. De visschen van den Indischen Archipel. Beschreven en toegelicht. Siluri. Acta Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae 4: i-xii, 1-370.
– Bockmann, F.A., M.C.C. de Pinna, J.G. Lundberg and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. 2005. The Conorhynchos conundrum: investigating the phylogenetic position of an enigmatic Neotropical catsh (Siluriformes, incertae sedis). Oral presentation, Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Tampa, FL, July 8, 2005
– Brasil-Sato, M.de C., and Dos Santos, M.D.: Metazoan parasites of Conorhynchos conirostris (Valenciennes, 1840) an endemic siluriform fish of the São Francisco basin, Brazil. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. Oct-Dec 2005;14(4):160-6.
– Carvalho, D.C., and Beheregaray, L.B.: Conservation genetics of the threatened catfish Conorhynchos conirostris (Siluriformes: incertae sedis), an evolutionary relict endemic to the São Francisco river Basin, Brazil; Conservation genetics, 2018.
– Godinho, A.L., and Godinho, H.P.: Fisheries, life-history and conservation status of the catfish pirá Conorhynchos conirostris (Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) in Brazil, March 2018 Neotropical Ichthyology 16(1)
– Histoire naturelle des Poissons / par [Georges] Cuvier et [Achille] Valenciennes. - Paris : Pitois. - [Tome] XV, 1840
– Melo RM, Arantes FP, Sato Y, dos Santos JE, Rizzo E, Bazzoli N.: Comparative morphology of the gonadal structure related to reproductive strategies in six species of neotropical catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes). J Morphol. 2011 May;272(5):525-35. doi: 10.1002/jmor.10931. Epub 2011 Jan 18.
PMID: 21246599
– Rodrigues, S.S.; Menin, E.: Anatomia da Cavidade bucofaringiana de Conorhynchos conirostris Valenciennes, 1840 Siluriformes. Revista Ceres. 2005 Novembro-Dezembro; 52304: 843-862.
– Sullivan JP, Lundberg JG, Hardman M. A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2006 Dec;41(3):636-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.044. Epub 2006 Jun 10. PMID: 16876440.
Websites
– Blog e Loja Pesca Gerais, https://blog.pescagerais.com.br/peixe-pira
– Ciência Hoje das Crianças, http://chc.org.br/artigo/o-misterioso-peixe-do-sao-francisco/
– Comitê da Bacia do Rio São Francisco, https://cbhsaofrancisco.org.br, O pirá, peixe-símbolo da BHSF, reaparece na região do Baixo São Francisco após quase cinco décadas de sumiço
– Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaíba (Codevasf), https://www.codevasf.gov.br, pirá, espécie nativa em extinção, reaparece no Baixo São Francisco após campanha da Codevasf
– https://g1.globo.com/sp/campinas-regiao/terra-da-gente/fauna/noticia/2015/02/pira-tamandua.html
– https://sites.google.com/site/pescandodourado, Símbolo do São Francisco
Databases
– Encyclopedia of Life, https://eol.org/pages/216325, Conorhynchos, Conorhynchos conirostris
– Fish Karyome, https://mail.nbfgr.res.in/Fish_Karyome/index.php, Conorhynchos conirostris
– FishBase, http://www.fishbase.org, Conorhynchos conirostris
– The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA, https://collections-zoology.fieldmuseum.org/catalogue/637291
– Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (FEOW), https://www.feow.org, ecoregions ID 327 (S. Francisco)
– IUCN Red List, https://www.iucnredlist.org, pirá
– ScotCat, https://www.scotcat.com, Conorhynchos conirostris
– Wikipédia, https://pt.wikipedia.org, pirá-tamanduá
– Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org, Conorhynchos
– Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org, Conorhynchos conirostris
Image sources
– https://www.aquaonline.com.br/peixes/doce/fundo/2071-conorhynchos-conirostris
– Ciência Hoje das Crianças, http://chc.org.br/artigo/o-misterioso-peixe-do-sao-francisco/
– Comitê da Bacia do Rio São Francisco, https://cbhsaofrancisco.org.br, O pirá, peixe-símbolo da BHSF, reaparece na região do Baixo São Francisco após quase cinco décadas de sumiço
– Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do Parnaíba (Codevasf), https://www.codevasf.gov.br, pirá, espécie nativa em extinção, reaparece no Baixo São Francisco após campanha da Codevasf
– https://www.deviantart.com/hidetoshi1/art/Conorhynchos-conirostris-917457134
– https://www.facebook.com/AquaticImports/videos/conorhynchos-conirostris-another-grail-fish-from-the-amazon-dm-us-for-orders-we-/2710216339305201/
– https://zh-tw.facebook.com/472920073053595/posts/1426287884383471/
– https://www.fishbase.de/photos/UploadedBy.php?autoctr=9804&win=uploaded
– https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbhriosaofrancisco/49895752871/in/album-72157714307059388/
– https://www.flickr.com/photos/cbhriosaofrancisco/49896062067/in/album-72157714307059388/
– https://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiomanfredini/27220064926/
– https://fm-digital-assets.fieldmuseum.org/2113/120/58033_Conorhynchos_conirostris_xray_lat_FMNH_FZ_2.jpg
– Godinho, A.L., and Godinho, H.P.: Fisheries, life-history and conservation status of the catfish pirá Conorhynchos conirostris (Ostariophysi: Siluriformes) in Brazil, March 2018 Neotropical Ichthyology 16(1)
– https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/187028/1822039
– https://www.memeta.co/zh-Hant/article/wyzo_xosn.html
– https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/image.php?image_id=14464
– https://www.ruraltectv.com.br/especie-em-extincao-reaparece-no-baixo-sao-francisco/
– https://www.scotcat.com/pimelodidae/conorhynchos_conirostris2.htm
– https://www.scotcat.com/pimelodidae/conorhynchos_conirostris4.htm
– https://sites.google.com/site/pescandodourado
– https://stringfixer.com/tags/pir%C3%A1
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