Ituglanis


Ituglanis is a genus of small freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes. These catfishes are found in South America. Their greatest diversity seems to occur in the Amazon River basin. Most species inhabit leaf litter, with several species living in caves.
This genus was first erected for nine species previously classified in Trichomycterus. Ituglanis is believed to be a monophyletic group. There may be two monophyletic groups within this genus. Ituglanis is currently considered a member of the subfamily Trichomycterinae though its position as a member of any of the current subfamilies has been questioned. Instead, it has been suggested to be the sister group of a large clade composed of the Glanapteryginae, Sarcoglanidinae, Stegophilinae, Tridentinae and Vandelliinae.

Species

There are currently over thirty recognized species in this genus: