Catfish · Other & oddball cats

Microcambeva caissara

Medeiros, Souto-Santos, Buckup, Ferrer, Reis, de Pinna & Lima, 2026

IUCNNOT EVALUATED
NEnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Depthnot recorded
DietUndescribed for this species; presumed genus-level interstitial sand-forager like other Microcambeva (not species-specific data).
BreedingUndescribed for this species.
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNo sexual dimorphism reported in the material available.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

Microcambeva caissara is a tiny, sand-dwelling catfish described in 2026 from the middle Guaraqueçaba River basin on the Paraná State coast of southern Brazil. The original description, published in the Journal of Fish Biology alongside a redescription of the related M. ribeirae, was not accessible for this article beyond the Catalog of Fishes record and the paper's formal citation, so most species-specific details — including body size and coloration — remain unreported here. Microcambeva is a small genus of free-living, interstitial trichomycterids that live buried in coarse river sand rather than preying on other fish.

What's in the name

Microcambeva caissaramy-kroh-kam-BAY-vah kye-SAH-rah

Microcambeva
  • mikrosGreeksmall
  • cambevaBrazilian Portuguese / Tupi-Guarania regional Brazilian name for small scaleless catfishes ("cambevas"), applied by the genus's 1994 authors Costa & Bockmann
caissara
  • caiçaraBrazilian Portuguesethe traditional coastal fisherfolk culture of the Paraná and São Paulo coast, the region containing the Guaraqueçaba type locality — a plausible but unconfirmed derivation, since the original etymological statement was not accessible for this article

Taxonomy & naming

Microcambeva caissara was described in 2026 by Luiz Souto de Medeiros, Ianna C. A. Souto-Santos, Paulo A. Buckup, Juliana Ferrer, Vitor J. C. Reis, Mário de Pinna and Sergio M. Q. Lima, in a Journal of Fish Biology paper that also redescribed the related species Microcambeva ribeirae. It belongs to the family Trichomycteridae, subfamily Microcambevinae, genus Microcambeva — a genus originally described by Costa & Bockmann in 1994 for small, sand-dwelling catfishes distinct from the free-living Trichomycterinae and from the blood- and scale-feeding parasitic subfamilies found elsewhere in the family.

The holotype, UFRGS 29330, was collected from the Cedro River, a left-margin tributary of the Guaraqueçaba River basin at road PR-405, in the municipality of Guaraqueçaba, Paraná State, Brazil. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences) records Microcambeva caissara Medeiros, Souto-Santos, Buckup, Ferrer, Reis, de Pinna & Lima, 2026 as the currently valid name. The original description was not accessible in full for this article; the account here relies on the Catalog of Fishes record and the paper's formal citation only.

Morphology

No morphological description, measurements, or coloration details for Microcambeva caissara were accessible for this article. Genus-level, Microcambeva species are miniature, elongate, sand-adapted trichomycterids, but no species-specific data can be confirmed here.

Habitat

Microcambeva caissara is known from the middle Guaraqueçaba River basin, on the Atlantic coastal plain of Paraná State, southern Brazil — a region of small coastal drainages distinct from the Amazon basin where most Trichomycteridae diversity lies. No water chemistry data have been reported.

Feeding

No diet information has been published for Microcambeva caissara. At the genus level, Microcambeva are interstitial, sand-dwelling catfishes presumed to forage among sand grains for small invertebrates, in the manner documented for other fossorial trichomycterids — a reasonable presumption for this species, but not a documented fact.

Mating

No courtship or spawning behavior has been recorded for Microcambeva caissara.

Breeding

Breeding biology is entirely undescribed for this species; it has never been kept or bred in captivity.

In the aquarium

Microcambeva caissara is not in the aquarium trade and has no husbandry record. Its sand-dwelling, interstitial lifestyle would make it an extremely demanding aquarium subject even if it were ever collected, and no responsible care guidance can be offered.

Conservation

Microcambeva caissara has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List and carries no formal conservation status. It is currently known only from its type locality in the middle Guaraqueçaba River basin; no information on population size, trend, or threats has been published.

Sources

  1. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Microcambeva caissara (original description record)
  2. Medeiros, L. S. de, I. C. A. Souto-Santos, P. A. Buckup, J. Ferrer, V. J. C. Reis, M. de Pinna and S. M. Q. Lima (2026). A new catfish species of Microcambeva Costa & Bockmann, 1994 (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from southern Brazil, with a redescription of M. ribeirae Costa, Lima & Bizerril, 2004. Journal of Fish Biology v. 109 (no. 1): 146-164.

Last reviewed 2026-09-03.

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Microcambeva caissara. Aquarist Atlas.https://www.aquaristatlas.com/catfish/microcambeva-caissara/

← All catfish