Prietella

Prietella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Ictaluridae
Genus:	Prietella Carranza, 1954
Type species
Prietella phreatophila Carranza, 1954

Prietella is a small genus of North American freshwater catfishes found in Mexico and Texas, and restricted to underground waters.

Prietella has been confirmed to be monophyletic and to be the sister group of the Noturus. The karyotype of P. phreatophila is indistinguishable from one of the genus Noturus; however, its diploid number of 50 chromosomes differs from the proposed ancestral Noturus karyotype of 54–56 chromosomes. However, this relationship has not been supported by preliminary sequence data. Despite similarity to other cave-dwelling species of Ictaluridae, they are not closely related.

There are currently two recognized species in this genus:

The distribution of Prietella now is known to extend from the very northern part of the state of Coahuila, Mexico, very near the international boundary, to the southernmost Tamaulipas, 750 kilometres (470 mi) away to the southeast. The distribution of P. lundbergi is very restricted; P. lundbergi is known from two springs of the Tamesí River drainage in the Tamaulipas state of Mexico.P. phreatophila has a greater distribution than P. lundbergi; P. phreatophila originates from the Bravo River basin, Coahuila, from near Múzquiz northward to about 50 km (31 mi) southwest of Ciudad Acuña and to near Allende, Mexico. In 2016, P. phreatophila was confirmed from Texas, near the Mexican border. Both species occupy different Gulf of Mexico drainages and are separated by about 600 km (370 mi).

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Wikipedia