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.
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans. They are one of the few parasitic chordates. Another species is the life monsefuano which was important to the Moche culture and still an important part of Peruvian cuisine.
Aspidoras is a genus of catfishes of the family Callichthyidae from Brazil.
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.
Trichomycterus is a genus of fish in the family Trichomycteridae, the largest genus of its family with over 170 species currently described. This genus is native to freshwater habitats in Central and South America. These fish are generally small, usually about 5 to 15 cm (2–6 in) in standard length, although the largest, T. rivulatus, can reach more than twice this size. Species differ from one another primarily in body proportions, fin ray counts and colouration. Despite their relatively small size, some, such as T. punctulatus, support fisheries and are important in the local cuisine.
Pimelodus is a genus of fish in the family Pimelodidae native to Central and South America.
Hisonotus is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America. Species of Hisonotus and Curculionichthys are the only representatives of the subfamily Otothyrinae having serrae on the posterior edge of the pectoral fin spine. These species are small fishes, generally found in small fast flowing streams, where they grasp to the branches and leaves of aquatic or subaquatic plants. The species of this genus mostly occur in Atlantic coastal streams of southern Brazil and the Paraguay-Paraná system of southern South America. They are also distributed in the Río de La Plata basin and coastal rivers of southeastern Brazil.
Microlepidogaster is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America.
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.
Spatuloricaria is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America and Panama.
Ammoglanis is a genus of pencil catfishes native to South America.
Helogenes is a genus of whale catfish found in tropical South America.
Ituglanis is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Trichomycteridae native to South America. Their greatest diversity seems to occur in the Amazon River basin. Most species inhabit leaf litter, with several species living in caves.
Cetopsis is a genus of catfishes of the family Cetopsidae.
Chaetostoma, also known as the bristlemouth catfish, is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes native to South America with one species, C. fischeri, extending into Panama. Most species inhabit flowing rivers in the lower Andes and its foothills. Some species are kept in unheated aquaria.
Curculionichthys is a genus of fish in the family Loricariidae native to South America.
Parotocinclus adamanteus is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Paraguaçu River basin in the state of Bahia in Brazil. A phylogenetic analysis reportedly indicates that P. adamanteus is most closely related to three other species in the genus Parotocinclus: P. jequi, P. prata, and P. robustus. The species was first described in 2019 by Edson H. L. Pereira, Alexandre Clistenes de A. Santos, Mário C. C. de Pinna, and Roberto E. Reis. FishBase does not list this species.
