THE CATFISHES OF VENEZUEILA — SCHULTZ 277 



Genus CORYDORAS Lacepede 



Corydoras Lacepede, Histoire naturelle des poissons, vol. 5, p. 145, 1803. 

 (Type, Corydoras geoffroy=C. pundahis Bloch.) 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CORYDORAS REPORTED FROM VENEZUELA (AFTER 



GOSLINE, 1940) 



la. Snout long, its profile straight or concave; bony interorbital contained 1.7 

 to 2 times in snout; 22 or 23 scutes in upper lateral series; no bristles on 

 cheek; width of body contained 1.4 times or less in depth; sides of body 

 in adult without small spots but with striking black blotches; anal and 

 posterior rays of dorsal plain; posterior dark blotch extending vertically 

 across caudal peduncle just ahead of caudal fin; interorbital 2.6 to 3.3 



in head Corydoras septentrionalis Gosline 



lb. Snout short, its profile rounded or sometimes nearh' straight; bony inter- 

 orbital contained 1.4 or less in snout; no black, hastate spot at base of 

 caudal; width of naked area between coracoids greater than diameter of 

 eye; coracoids incompletely surrounding pectoral bases on surface of body; 

 dorsal spine not reaching adipose when laid back. 

 2a. Depth of suborbital in adult equal to or greater than diameter of eye; 

 dorsal spine short, about equal to length of snout. 



Corydoras aeneus (Gill) 

 26. Depth of suborbital in adult less than diameter of eye. 



3c. Sides of body with a trilineate pattern formed of a dark band along 

 junction of rows of lateral scutes bordered on either side by a lighter 

 band, these lighter bands in turn delimited above and below by 

 darker pigmentation of sides; flesh of abdomen without small platelets; 

 dorsal without a black blotch; caudal plain__Corydoras bondi Gosline 

 36. Sides of body without a trilineate pattern; sides with many small dark 

 spots but no blotches and no band along junction of rows of scutes; 

 depth 3 or less in standard length; 21 to 24 scutes in upper lateral series; 

 eye 5 or less in head; dorsal spine about equal to length of head; a 

 vertical band from top of head through eye. 



Corydoras melanistius Regan 



CORYDORAS SEPTENTRIONALIS Gosline 



Corydoras septentriojialis Gosline, Stanford Ichth. Bull., vol. 2, No. 1, p. 16, 

 1940 (Rfo Pina, north of Maturin; Rio Guanipa, north of El Tigre; Rio 

 Amana, east of Santa Barbara; Rio Tinaquillo, at Tinaquillo, Venezuela). — 

 Myers, Stanford Ichth. Bull., vol. 2, No. 4, p. 100, fig. 6, 1942 (Venezuela). 



CORYDORAS AENEUS (Gill) 



Hoplosoma aeneum Gill, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 6, p. 403, 1858 



(Trinidad). 

 Corydoras venezuelanus Ihering, Rev. Mus. Paulista, vol. 8, p. 383, 1911 (Rfo 



Cabriales, Valencia, Estado de Carabobo, Venezuela). 

 Corydoras aeneus Eigenmann, Indiana Univ. Studies, vol. 7, No. 44, p. 9, 1920 



(Maracay, Rio Bue, Venezuela). — Gosline, Stanford Ichth. Bull., vol. 2, 



No. 1, p. 19, 1940 (Lake Valencia; Rio Urana, 40 km. west of Puerto Cabello; 



Rio Carichapo, 30 km. east of Upata, in Venezuela). — Ribeiro, Rev. Mus. 



Paulista, vol. 10, p. 721, 1918 (Rio Cabriale, Venezuela). 



