The Largest Nematogenys inermis From a Small Stream in the Maipo Basin Once Considered Extinct: Perspectives on Body Size Evolution and Peripheral Habitats as Refuges
Published in Austral Ecology, 2026
Recommended citation: Lamilla-Maulén P, Cortés-Miranda J, Tubin-Arenas B, Quezada-Romegialli C, Arratia G. The Largest Nematogenys inermis From a Small Stream in the Maipo Basin Once Considered Extinct: Perspectives on Body Size Evolution and Peripheral Habitats as Refuges. Austral Ecol. 2026; 51(3):e70202. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.70202
This work documents the largest specimen ever recorded of Nematogenys inermis, an ancient and threatened endemic Chilean catfish, measuring 45.5 cm in total length. The individual was discovered in a small, shallow, and isolated stream separated from one of the most degraded river systems in Chile. This finding challenges existing knowledge about habitat preferences for adult individuals and suggests that the species persists in peripheral tributary refuges. The results carry implications for understanding body size changes across evolutionary time in primitive catfish lineages and highlight the conservation urgency for this threatened endemic species.
Recommended citation: Lamilla-Maulén P, Cortés-Miranda J, Tubin-Arenas B, Quezada-Romegialli C, Arratia G. The Largest Nematogenys inermis From a Small Stream in the Maipo Basin Once Considered Extinct: Perspectives on Body Size Evolution and Peripheral Habitats as Refuges. Austral Ecol. 2026; 51(3):e70202.