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I have a couple of questions that I'm pretty sure you guys can answer. First of all what does the word evertible mean in the phrase "evertible interopercular spines?" And secondly where is the spinelet located on a pleco? I checked the glossary on here, and searched google, but I couldn't find information to explain either. Tracy

Hi Tracy - Had to double check, because I'm sure it was disccused before and I thought it had been in the Glossary section. It wasn't.

To be short about it, Evertible means "can be turned inside out", but in this case means more like "Can be turned out".

Interopercular means "between the gillcovers" (or in this case, probably better as "behind").

So the "spines" are just at the back of the head, where the gillcovers end.

Here is a thread about it - you need to scroll down a few to get a definition.

I'll post it for inclusion in the glossary too... and Interopercular.

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Mats

Thanks. Yeah, in all my reading and research I keep one page on my computer open to the glossary, and have found the definition to a lot of words. That one eluded me. Now do you happen to know where the spinelet is located? I think I figured it out, but I am probably wrong. I'm thinking it is at the base of the spine at the beginning of the dorsal fin. Tracy

Not aware of a spinelet, so I can't really say... Sorry...

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Mats

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_ ... osmin.html
I have been doing a lot of my reading there. In the description of hypostiminae (I think I spelled that wrong) Armbruster uses the word spinelet. Tracy
That was an awesome link BTW. I wish I had seen it before, it would have saved me about an hour of search for definitions!

Not exactly describing it, but giving us a clue:

Dorsal fin moderately long, usually just barely reaching preadipose plate when depressed, consisting of small, V-shaped spinelet, fairly strong spine, and seven rays

From J. Armbruster: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2005f/zt00920.pdf

So I would say that the spinelet is at the back end of the dorsal fin...

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Mats

The reason I thought it was at the front is because Armbruster says " In all the Hypostominae, the spinelet is large and V-shaped and clearly slides under the nuchal plate whereas it is square or absent in most other loricariids and, when present, does not slide under the nuchal plate"
that was copied from the llink I posted earlier. And when I looked up nuchal plate, I could have swore it said that was at the back of the neck. My desk is too messy and I can't find my notes right now. I am probably wrong. Tracy

You're right, nuchal means of the nape, so just behind the head. Now I'm actually quite confused...

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Mats

LOL, now I feel better that it isn't just me. Just kidding. I saw the basic catfish anatomy drawing on here, is there one for plecos too? I couldn't find one. Tracy