| Paralithoxus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: | Hypostominae |
| Genus: | Paralithoxus Boeseman, 1982 |
| Type species | |
| Paralithoxus bovallii (Regan, 1906) | |
Paralithoxus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes native to tropical South America.
There are currently nine recognized species in this genus: [1]
Paralithoxus range from the Oyapock drainage along the border between Brazil and French Guiana, through Suriname west to the Tacutu River along the border between Guyana and Brazil and south to the Uatama and Trombetas rivers of Brazil. [3]
Paralithoxus contains some of the most dorsoventrally flattened fishes in the world. [4] They can be distinguished from most loricariids by having a round instead of oval lower lip. The lower lip is large and round as in Exastilithoxus with the edge sometimes frilled, but not with the barbels seen in Exastilithoxus . [4]
Paralithoxus species have a unique, enlarged, thin-walled stomach from which the intestine exits dorsally. [4] The stomach is expanded, thin-walled, and clear and is used in breathing air. A thin, clear tube exits the main body of the stomach anterodorsally, terminating at the pylorus just anterior to the posterior extent of the stomach. The intestine tends to have less coils than other members of Ancistrini. The expanded stomach is slightly larger in males; this is due to the males having more space due to a difference in the relative size of the gonads. [5]
Colouration in Paralithoxus species is typically slate gray to tan with a few lighter markings on the body; there are occasionally bands in the pectoral and caudal fins. The ventral surface ranges from white to slightly lighter than the sides. The abdomen is naked (scaleless and unplated). The caudal fin is slightly forked. [4]
Breeding males develop extremely long odontodes on the leading edge of the pectoral fin spine. [4]
Paralithoxus species are rheophilic, meaning they prefer to inhabit fast-moving water. [3] Paralithoxus is said to inhabit both rivulets and medium-sized creeks. Paralithoxus have been collected from riffles on the main-stem Essequibo River in Guyana. These peripheral habitats are among the first parts of the river to dry and the respiratory stomach may have evolved to handle this periodic drying. [4] The flattened morphology suggests that Paralithoxus species live under rocks. [4]
Paralithoxus have a unique air-holding stomach. The large size and small number of eggs suggest that parental care is well developed, but nothing is known of the breeding habits of Paralithoxus. [5]
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.
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.
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.
Pseudancistrus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes native to South America.
Rineloricaria is a genus of freshwater tropical catfish belonging to the family Loricariidae. They are commonly called whiptail catfish because of the long filament that grows out of the tip of the caudal fin that is characteristic of the genus. With the exception of R. altipinnis from Panama, they are native to the rivers of northern and central South America. Some species are regularly seen in the aquarium trade.
Scoloplax is the only genus in the catfish family Scoloplacidae, the spiny dwarf catfishes.
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.
Harttia is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America.
Loricaria is a genus of armored catfish native to South America.
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.
Pterygoplichthyini is a tribe of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. It includes two genera, Pterygoplichthys and the currently undescribed genus referred to as the Hemiancistrus annectens group, This group was earlier misspelled as Pterygoplichthini. Pterygoplichthyines are known from nearly the entire range of loricariids except for the Guyanas and coastal streams in southeastern Brazil. although later work by the same authority, and his co-authors, placed this group among the genus Hypostomus.
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.
Neoplecostomus is a genus of fish in the family Loricariidae native to South America. Neoplecostomus can be distinguished from all other loricariids by a modified shield of small plates on the abdomen with posteriorly directed odontodes; the shield appears to act as a holdfast. The color pattern is generally mottled brown with the abdomen white. The head is long, rounded, and shovel-shaped. The fin spines are weak. They range from about 8 to 11 cm (3.1–4.3 in) SL. The species of Neoplecostomus live in fast-flowing water.
Pareiorhina is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America where they are only found in Brazil. These species are known to occur at altitudes above 650 metres (2100 ft) in various rivers of the Grande, Paraíba do Sul, São Francisco and Tietê River basins. This genus was first erected by Gosline in 1947 as a monotypic genus to include Rhinelepis rudolphi. It was not until 2003 that a second species, P. carrancas, was described. The third species, P. brachyrhyncha was described in 2005. Pareiorhina forms a monophyletic subunit with Neoplecostomus within the subfamily Neoplecostominae.
Pseudacanthicus is a genus of medium to large-sized suckermouth armored catfishes native to South America, where found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas. They are primarily found in fast-flowing waters, sometimes relatively deep. They are sometimes kept in aquariums.
Pseudolithoxus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes with five described species from the basins of the Orinoco, Casiquiare and upper Rio Negro in Venezuela. Additionally, a possibly undescribed species is known from the Trombetas and Nhamundá rivers in Brazil.
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.