The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as the territory of French Guiana.
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.
Hypostomus is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae. They are native to tropical and subtropical South America. H. plecostomus is the popular freshwater aquarium fish formerly known as Plecostomus plecostomus. The taxonomic structure of the Loricariidae is still being expanded by scientists. Hypostomus is a highly species-rich and widely distributed catfish genus.
The genus Panaque contains a small number of small to medium-sized South American suckermouth armoured catfishes that are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that feed extensively on wood. In addition, algae and aufwuchs are an important part of the diet, and they use their rasping teeth to scrape this from rocks. These fish are also popular aquarium fish, where the sound of scraping as these fish forage for food is easily audible.
Baryancistrus is a genus of freshwater Loricariid catfish. They inhabit flowing sections of rivers, especially clearwater, in the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco in Brazil and Venezuela. The largest species reach up to 34 cm (13 in) in total length.
Peckoltia is a genus of small South American armored suckermouth catfishes. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish.
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.
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.
The Hypostominae are a subfamily of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. Most members are restricted to tropical and subtropical South America, but there are also several species in southern Central America. Hypostomus plecostomus, which is popular in the aquarium trade, has been introduced to several regions far from its native range.
Ancistrini is a tribe of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. Most are restricted to tropical and subtropical South America, but there are also several genus in southern Central America.
Hypostomus cochliodon is a species of armored catfish native to the Paraguay and middle Paraná River basins in northern Argentina, southern Brazil and Paraguay. Initially it did not occur in the upper Paraná basin above the Guaíra Falls, but these disappeared after the construction of the Itaipu Dam, allowing this species to spread. It grows to a standard length of 23 cm (9.1 in).
Panaqolus is a genus of small catfish in the family Loricariidae native to rivers in tropical South America. Its members were formerly thought to belong to a clade of small-sized species in the genus Panaque, until this genus was separated from Panaque in 2001. At times it has been considered a subgenus of Panaque, and the validity of the genus has been disputed by various authors and sources. Pseudoqolus koko was formerly considered to be a member of this genus, although it was reclassified as a member of the currently monotypic genus Pseudoqolus by Nathan K. Lujan, Christian A. Cramer, Raphael Covain, Sonia Fisch-Muller, and Hernán López-Fernández following a 2017 molecular phylogenetic analysis.
Panaque armbrusteri is a species of fish in the South American armoured catfish family Loricariidae. This species is distributed throughout the Tapajós river, a large tributary of the Amazon River, with similar populations found in the Xingu, Araguaia, Tocantins and Aripuanã rivers, although it is uncertain whether these populations comprise the same or different species. P. armbrusteri is a large loricariid, reaching 43 cm in total length and reportedly weighing up to 1.3 kg.
Panaque bathyphilus is an Amazonian species of armoured catfish from the family Loricariidae. The holotype of the species was collected in the Solimões River, upstream of its confluence with the Purus River. This species has been known in the aquarium trade, at least since 1992, as papa panaque or under the L-number code L090. It reaches up to about 40 cm (16 in) in length.
Panaque schaeferi is a freshwater species of fish from the South American armoured catfish family Loricariidae. Panaque schaeferi is widely distributed throughout the upper Amazon in Peruvian and Ecuadorian rivers, and it has been observed as far down as Santarém, Brazil. Growing to at least 60 cm SL, it is one of the largest, and likely one of the heaviest species of Loricariid. It has been known in the aquarium trade since at least 1996 under various names such as 'Titanic pleco' and 'Volkswagen pleco', in addition to L203 and LDA065 under the L-number code. Juveniles are often confused with Panaque bathyphilus and erroneously called L090c.
Panaque titan is a species of freshwater fish from the South American armoured catfish family Loricariidae. It is known from several rivers in the Napo River basin in Ecuador, where it was perhaps first encountered in 1975, although it was not scientifically described until 2010. The species reaches at least 39.4 cm SL.
Peckoltia pankimpuju is a species of armored catfish from the family Loricariidae, native to the Marañón River in the upper Amazon basin of Peru. It is commonly called the coal pleco, Peruvian lyre-tail, and L350 under the L-number code. It reaches up to about 40 cm (16 in) in length.
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.
Panaqolus gnomus, sometimes known as the dwarf panaque, is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is a freshwater fish native to South America, where it occurs in the basins of the Pastaza River and the Marañón River. The species reaches 7.1 cm SL. It is the type species of the genus Panaqolus, which was historically considered to be a clade of small-sized species within the genus Panaque, hence the common name of this species.
Pseudoqolus koko is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae and the only species in the genus Pseudoqolus. It is a freshwater fish native to South America, where it occurs in the Maroni basin. It is usually found on or near stony substrates in the main river channel at a depth of around 2 m. The species has been collected alongside multiple other loricariid species, including Hemiancistrus medians, Peckoltia otali, Pseudancistrus barbatus, Harttia guianensis, Loricaria cataphracta, and Rineloricaria stewarti. It is noted that the gut contents of one specimen of this species contained primarily spicules and sponge fragments, indicating that it may feed on freshwater sponges. The species reaches 9 cm SL.
