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Orinoco Basin, Guárico, Venezuela

Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of, Guárico, Toralba

The Orinoco River flows about 1,600 miles from the highlands from the Guiana highlands at the Brazilian border to the Gulf of Paria. Historically it was part of the Venezuelan waterway transportation between Ciudad Bolivar and Maracaibo. The Orinoco drains most of the country.

This river is one of the habitats of the beautiful cichlid Orinoco Altum and many other beautiful fish.

Submitted by: Arief Hakim
Approved by: Roberto E. Reis, Pablo C. Lehmann and Flávio Lima

GPS: 8.3615417, -65.9349976

Geographical region: South America
Drainage Basin: East coast
River catchment: Orinoco river
Water body type: Creek
Water body name: Orinoco basin
Water body part: Flood plain
Water body course: Lower course
Water body: tributary of: Creek
Tributary name: Orinoco river

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Water Chemistry

Water information

Water type: fresh-water
Water color: Black water
Water transparency: Medium
Concentration of sediments: Low
Water temperature: 30 °C
Water flow/curent: Slow

Chemical parameters

pH: 6
Conductivity
GH
dGH
KH
dKH
Dissolved Oxygen

Substrate in nature

Sand: White
Pebble/Gravel: Mixed
Stone: Brown
Stone form: Irregular
Silt/Mud: None
Leaves: Many
Driftwood: Many
Submerged terrestrial vegetation

Aquatic Biotope

Date of collecting: 25/12/2022
Collecting area: River bank
Water depth: 1,0m
Air temperature: 30 °C
Sunlight: Partial shade

Environment

Environment

Untouched

Surrounding area

This river is one of the habitats of the beautiful fish Orinoco Altum and many other beautiful fish.

Underwater landscape

Fishlist:

Pterophyllum altum (Cichlidae)
Hemigrammus rhodostomus (Characidae)
Corydoras adolfoi ( Callichthyidae)

Threats to ecology

The Orinoco river is one of habitat of Pterophyllum altum and many beautifull fish.

Riparian zone

Trees near the aquatic habitat: Few -

Comment by the expert

Roberto E. Reis: Description of the location is very superficial, no mention to mention to surroundings or threats to ecology. One photo no videos. Only three fish species out of probably hundreds are mentioned, no inverts or plants. Description of the aquatic habitat moderate, no description of riparian zone or underwater landscape. Bibliography/Sitography not included.

Flávio Lima: The participant gave little information concerning the the aquatic biotope he attempted to recreate and much of it was generic for the Orinoco basin and not specific for the habitat of Pterophyllum altum. This species is actually restricted to the upper portion of the Orinoco (Río Atabapo), thus very far from Guarico state, where in fact aquatic habitats are quite distinct from the ones at the upper Orinoco.

Pablo C. Lehmann: Overall, the information provided gives a general overview of the Orinoco River and its biotope, but lacks some depth and specific references. Improving descriptions and citing sources would further improve the quality and reliability of the information. Furthermore, the inclusion of more photos or videos of the natural environment, including fish species and other aquatic biodiversity would be an important point to improve the biotope’s visualisation support.