Taxonomy & naming
Harttia rondoni was formally described by Oyakawa, Fichberg and Rapp Py-Daniel in 2018, in Zootaxa (volume 4387, number 1, pages 75–90), within a revisionary treatment of Harttia from the eastern Brazilian Shield and Amazonian uplands. The type material was collected in the Serra do Cachimbo, within the Rio Xingu basin, Pará, northern Brazil. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, CAS) recognises Harttia rondoni as a valid species (spid 75253).
The genus Harttia belongs to the subfamily Loricariinae, the elongate, depressed-bodied 'whiptail' lineage of the armoured catfish family Loricariidae. The specific epithet rondoni is a patronym honouring Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, the Brazilian military engineer and explorer of the country's interior.
Within the genus, H. rondoni is distinguished by a suite of plate and proportional characters detailed in the original description, including an abdomen only partially covered by small irregular plates near the preanal plates, an exposed canal plate, a relatively greater interorbital width, two broad transverse dark brown marks on the outer surface of the upper lips, and a caudal peduncle that is slightly compressed laterally after the lateral keels converge.
Morphology
Harttia rondoni reaches at least 6.5 in in standard length, this figure being based on the type specimen (FishBase Ref. 117418). Like other members of the genus it has the elongate, dorsoventrally flattened body and tapering caudal peduncle typical of the whiptail loricariines, the head and trunk encased in rows of bony plates.
Diagnostic features noted in the original description include an abdomen partially covered by small irregular plates near the preanal plates, an exposed canal plate, a comparatively greater interorbital width, and two broad transverse dark brown markings on the outer surface of the upper lips. The caudal peduncle is slightly laterally compressed behind the point where the paired lateral keels meet.
No data on sexual dimorphism in this species has been published. In Harttia generally, breeding males develop hypertrophied odontodes on the head and pectoral spines, but this has not been documented specifically for H. rondoni.
Habitat
The species is known from the Serra do Cachimbo, an upland plateau region drained by tributaries of the Rio Xingu in Pará, northern Brazil. FishBase characterises the species as a freshwater, benthopelagic fish of tropical waters. The Serra do Cachimbo streams are typically clear, fast-flowing upland watercourses running over rock and sand.
Beyond the general environment of the type locality, no detailed field data on the water chemistry, depth, or microhabitat preferences of H. rondoni has been published. Like other Harttia it can reasonably be expected to associate with the substrate in flowing water, but specifics are not on record.
Feeding
No direct dietary study of Harttia rondoni has been published. FishBase lists an estimated trophic level of about 2.5, consistent with a largely herbivorous to omnivorous grazing habit. Members of the subfamily Loricariinae are generally bottom-dwelling grazers that rasp biofilm, algae, and associated micro-invertebrates and detritus from hard surfaces, and H. rondoni is presumed to feed similarly, but this has not been confirmed by gut-content analysis for the species.
Mating
No information on the courtship or mating behaviour of Harttia rondoni has been published. Reproductive behaviour in the genus is poorly documented, and nothing specific is recorded for this recently described species.
Breeding
No breeding data for Harttia rondoni has been published. The species is not known to have been bred in captivity, and its spawning mode, clutch size, and parental care remain undescribed. Many Loricariinae are substrate egg-layers in which the male guards the clutch, but this cannot be asserted for H. rondoni without direct observation.
In the aquarium
Harttia rondoni is not a species established in the aquarium trade, and no husbandry experience with it has been published. It is known essentially from scientific collections in a remote part of the upper Xingu basin. Any keeping recommendations would be speculative; the species is best regarded, for now, as a fish of scientific rather than hobbyist interest.
Conservation
Harttia rondoni has not been evaluated for the IUCN Red List (status Not Evaluated). As a recently described species known mainly from its type material in the Serra do Cachimbo headwaters of the Rio Xingu basin, its population size, range, and trends are not formally assessed.
The upper Xingu and adjacent Brazilian Shield uplands face pressures from deforestation, mining, and hydroelectric development, which can affect upland stream-dwelling fishes with restricted ranges. Several congeners from the same region have been assessed as threatened, but in the absence of a formal evaluation for H. rondoni no conservation status can be stated with confidence.