Cambeva crassicaudata
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Cambeva crassicaudata faces severe threats from deforestation and agricultural expansion in its restricted Atlantic Forest range in southeastern Brazil. The species' dependence on pristine headwater streams makes it particularly vulnerable to sedimentation and water quality degradation from cattle ranching and crop cultivation. Dam construction and water diversions for irrigation further fragment its already limited habitat, while climate change threatens to alter the cool, oxygen-rich stream conditions this catfish requires.
Habitat
This endemic catfish inhabits clear, fast-flowing headwater streams and tributaries within the Atlantic Forest biome of southeastern Brazil. It requires well-oxygenated waters with rocky substrates and dense riparian forest cover that maintains cool water temperatures and prevents erosion.