Trichomycteridae

Trichomycterus trefauti

Trichomycterus trefauti

One dark ellipse anchors a uniformly gray tail base

• Tropical
• Southern Hemisphere
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• South America
• Elongated
• Tropical fish

Trichomycterus trefauti is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes. This catfish is presently only known from the upper basin of the São Francisco River in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This is a small, cylindrical catfish (35–55 mm standard length) which can most readily be distinguished from its congeners by its uniformly grey colouring, marked only by a distinctive elliptical dark spot at the base of the caudal fin.