242 

 Common Names 



Colombia: doncella, senorita, nina, gata, fria, barbul, roUera (Miles 1947, 

 Dahl 1971). Venezuela: doncella (Mago-Leccia 1970, Taphorn and lilyestrom 

 1984a). 



Ecology 



Little is known of the biology or ecology oiA.pardalis. Most of the available 

 information was provided by Dahl (1971). The species was found to spawn in July in 

 water 3-4 meters deep over a mud bottom. Breder (1927) found that the stomach of 

 one specimen contained fragments of a decapod. 



Dahl (1971) commented on the food value and fisheries exploitation of this 

 species. He implicated overfishing in population declines observed during the 

 decade prior to publication of his book, and suggested that the species was in need 

 of legal protection in the form of fishing restrictions. Recent degradation of water 

 quality as a result of human pollution may be responsible for a decline in this 

 species' abundance in portions of the Rio Magdalena (A. Acero, personal 

 communication). 



Comments 



In the original description oiA.pardalis, Liitken (1874) listed the specimens 

 as having come from Caracas, Venezuela. There is no current evidence that this 

 species occurs near Caracas, however, and the type locality of the species is 

 therefore questionable. It is likely that Lutken received the holotype from material 

 sent to Caracas from a collection made to the west of the easternmost Andean 

 Cordilleras in Venezuela or Colombia, 



