Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. In the aquarium hobby they are often referred to as bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and its allies and is often used as a catchall term for any loricariids remotely resembling that species.
Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.
Corydoras is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost equals the area of distribution of the family, except for Panama where Corydoras is not present. Corydoras species are distributed in South America where they can be found from the east of the Andes to the Atlantic coast, from Trinidad to the Río de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina. Species assigned to Corydoras display a broad diversity of body shapes and coloration. Corydoras are small fish, ranging from 2.5 to 12 cm in SL., and are protected from predators by their body armor and by their sharp, typically venomous spines.
The zebra oto or tiger oto is a fish of the genus Otocinclus of the family Loricariidae that originates from Peru.
The golden otocinclus is one of the smallest known suckermouth catfish, often called a 'dwarf oto'. Endemic to Southeast Brazil, this herbivorous, rheophilic, bottom-feeder only grows to around 4 cm (1.6 in) in length. The close relatives of this small fish are often used for the purpose of controlling algae in small home aquariums, under the name Otocinclus affinis. In reality, they belong to the species O. vittatus, O. vestitus and O. macrospilus and O. huaorani. The real M. affinis is not present in the aquarium hobby.
Loricarioidea is a superfamily of catfishes. It contains the six families Trichomycteridae, Nematogenyiidae, Callichthyidae, Scoloplacidae, Astroblepidae, and Loricariidae. Some schemes also include Amphiliidae. This superfamily, including Amphiliidae, includes about 156 genera and 1,187 species.
Hemiancistrus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. These species are native to South America. The taxonomy of this genus is complex and unclear, and major work has to be done. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish.
Lithogenes is a genus of South American catfish of the family Loricariidae. It is the only genus within the subfamily Lithogeneinae.
Pogonopoma is a genus of armored catfish native to rivers in south and southeast Brazil.
Loricariinae is a subfamily of the family Loricariidae of catfish. This subfamily is divided into two tribes and about 30 genera. They are mainly native to freshwater habitats in South America, but there are also several species in Panama and a single (Fonchiiichthys) in Costa Rica.
The Hypoptopomatinae are a subfamily of catfishes of the family Loricariidae, composed of 17 genera and approximately 80 species. This subfamily represents about one-tenth of all loricariid species.
Pareiorhaphis is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae native to South America. This genus can be readily distinguished from other neoplecostomines by the unique combination of having fleshy lobes on lateral margins of head ornamented with hypertrophied odontodes on nuptial males, caudal peduncle ovoid in cross section, abdomen usually naked, dorsal fin spinelet ovoid and adipose fin usually present. The color pattern is usually dark brown and mottled with the abdomen white. Most species in to Pareiorhaphis were originally described in Hemipsilichthys. In 1918, Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro proposed the new genus Pareiorhaphis. Whether Pareiorhaphis is monophyletic or not is currently unknown.
Parotocinclus is a genus of fish in the family Loricariidae native to South America. This genus is distributed through almost all hydrographic systems in South America from the Guyana Shield drainages and Amazon Shield tributaries to the coastal drainages of eastern and southeastern Brazil, including the rio São Francisco basin. Most species have the caudal peduncle oval in cross section. It has been found that Characidium species may interact with P. maculicauda. The small Characidium will follow grazing P. maculicauda, which release particulate matter dislodged from the catfish's foraging.
Otocinclus xakriaba is a species of suckermouth catfish native to the São Francisco river basin in South America. This species reaches a maximum length of 3.1 centimetres (1.2 in) (SL).
Nannoplecostomus eleonorae is a species of armored catfish known only from the upper Rio Tocantins basin in the Brazilian state of Goiás. This species grows to a length of 2.22 centimetres (0.87 in) SL. This species is the only known member of its genus and the smallest loricariid catfish known.
Otocinclus mimulus is a species of armoured catfish found in small tributaries of the Monday river, itself a tributary of the Paraná river.
Pterygoplichthys anisitsi also known as the Paraná sailfin catfish, southern sailfin catfish, is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. Its natural range is the middle Paraná and Uruguay River basins of south-central South America, but it has been introduced to North America and South Asia, probably via the pet trade. Like other loricariid catfishes, Pterygoplichthys anisitsi has a ventral mouth modified into a sucking disk and a body covered in bony plates. The species typically has a dark and white spotted body pattern, although some individuals are very dark with few spots. It reaches 55 cm in total length and can weigh up to at least 2.3 kg.
Corydoras diphyes is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Corydoradinae sub-family of the family Callichthyidae. It originates in inland waters in South America. Corydoras diphyes is restricted to tributaries of the río Monday and the río Acaray, and right bank tributaries of the río Paraná in Paraguay.
Scott Allen Schaefer is an American ichthyologist working at the American Museum of Natural History as the dean of science for collections, exhibitions, and the public understanding of science; he serves as the curator-in-charge, in the department of ichthyology, within the division of vertebrate zoology.
Otocinclus macrospilus is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it is known from the Amazon River basin. The species reaches 3.5 cm SL and is found in the aquarium trade, where it is sometimes referred to as the common otocinclus or dwarf otocinclus, both of which can lead to confusion with other Otocinclus and Macrotocinclus species.
