Phreatobius sanguijuela

Description

Phreatobius sanguijuela is a species of catfish in the genus Phreatobius. This species was discovered in a hand-dug well in located within the Río Paraguá drainage, a tributary of the Río Iténez in Bolivia. This species is endangered by environmental degradation due to pollution, water extraction for drinking and irrigation, mineral extraction, and associated erosion. It is often killed when accidentally caught from wells because of a superficial resemblance to leeches. This small fish reaches a maximum length of 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) SL. P. sanguijuela differs from P. cisternarum in a number of ways, but the main differences are the absence of eyes (which are present in P. cisternarum).