Chain Catfish

	Chain Catfish
	; Pterygoplichthys sp.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryotes
Kingdom:	Animals
Kingdom :	Eumetazoi
No rank :	Bilateral symmetrical
No rank :	Secondary
Type of:	Chordate
Subtype :	Vertebrates
Infratype :	Maxillary
Group :	Fish
Group :	Bone fish
Grade:	Rayfin fish
Subclass :	Freshfishes
Infraclass :	Bony fish
Squadron :	Bone Bubble
Series :	Otophyses
Subseries :	Siluriphysi
Squad:	Catfish
Family:	Chain Catfish
International scientific name
	Loricariidae Rafinesque , 1815

Chain catfish , or Loricaria ( lat. Loricariidae ) - a family of freshwater fish of the order Somoiforidae .

Panaque nigrolineatus

Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus

Baryancistrus xanthellus

Otocinclus cocama

Sturisoma panamense

Pterygoplichthys pardalis

Pterygoplichthys sp.

Content

1 Description
2 Classification
3 Distribution
4 notes

Description

Fish with a flattened body, covered with bone plates. Body shape and coloring are very variable. On the upper jaw there is one pair of antennae. The mouth is transformed into a suction cup, which allows these fish to stick to the substrate and stay on it even in fast flow. They feed by scraping algae, small invertebrates and detritus from immersed substrates in water. They populated almost all freshwater habitats from fast streams flowing from the Andes to quiet brackish estuaries, groundwater and acidic ponds of the Guiana Plateau ^[1] .

Classification

In the chain-mail catfish family, 7 subfamilies are distinguished, 106 genera with 934 species of fish, it includes the following genera ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] :

Subfamily Delturinae
- Delturus
- Hemipsilichthys
Subfamily Hypoptopomatinae
- Triba Hypoptopomatini
  - Acestridium
  - Hypoptopoma
  - Nannoptopoma
  - Niobichthys
  - Otocinclus
  - Oxyropsis
- Tribe Otothyrini
  - Corumbataia
  - Epactionotus
  - Eurycheilichthys
  - Hisonotus
  - Microlepidogaster
  - Otothyris
  - Otothyropsis
  - Parotocinclus
  - Pseudotocinclus
  - Pseudotothyris
  - Schizolecis
- Hypoptopomatinae incertae sedis
  - Gymnotocinclus
Subfamily Hypostominae
- Tribe Ancistrini
  - Acanthicus
  - Ancistrus
  - Baryancistrus
  - Chaetostoma
  - Cordylancistrus
  - Dekeyseria
  - Dolichancistrus
  - Exastilithoxus
  - Hemiancistrus
  - Hopliancistrus
  - Hypancistrus
  - Lasiancistrus
  - Leporacanthicus
  - Leptoancistrus
  - Lithoxus
  - Megalancistrus
  - Neblinichthys
  - Panaque
  - Parancistrus
  - Peckoltia
  - Pseudacanthicus
  - Pseudancistrus
  - Pseudolithoxus
  - Spectracanthicus
- Tribe Corymbophanini
  - Corymbophanes
- Tribe Hypostomini
  - Hypostomus
- Tribe Pterygoplichthyini
  - Hemiancistrus annectens group
  - Pterygoplichthys
- Tribe Rhinelepini
  - Pogonopoma
  - Pseudorinelepis
  - Rhinelepis
Subfamily Lithogeneinae
- Lithogenes
Subfamily Loricariinae
- Tribe Loricariini
  - Loricaria group
    - Brochiloricaria
    - Loricaria
    - Paraloricaria
    - Ricola
  - Loricariichthys group
    - Furcodontichthys
    - Hemiiodontichthys
    - Limatulichthys
    - Loricariichthys
    - Pseudoloricaria
  - Pseudohemiodon group
    - Apistoloricaria
    - Crossoloricaria
    - Dentectus
    - Planiloricaria
    - Pyxiloricaria
    - Rhadinoloricaria
    - Pseudohemiodon
    - Reganella
  - Rineloricaria group
    - Dasyloricaria
    - Ixinandria
    - Rineloricaria
    - Spatuloricaria
- Tribe Harttiini
  - Aposturisoma
  - Cteniloricaria
  - Farlowella
  - Harttia
  - Harttiella
  - Lamontichthys
  - Metaloricaria
  - Pterosturisoma
  - Sturisoma
  - Sturisomatichthys
Subfamily Neoplecostominae
- Isbrueckerichthys
- Kronichthys
- Neoplecostomus
- Pareiorhaphis
- Pareiorhina

Distribution

They are found in Central and South America from Costa Rica to Argentina ^[1] .

Notes

↑ ¹ ² Covain R. & Fisch-Muller S. The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis (English) // Zootaxa : journal. - (2007). - Vol. 1462 . - P. 1–40 . - ISSN 1175-5326 . - DOI : 10.11646 / zootaxa.1462.1.1 .
↑ Armbruster JW "Loricariid taxa list" .
↑ Reis, Roberto E .; Pereira, Edson HL; Armbruster, Jonathan W. (2006). "Delturinae, a new loricariid catfish subfamily (Teleostei, Siluriformes), with revisions of Delturus and Hemipsilichthys " // Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 147 (2): 277-299. DOI : 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.2006.00229.x
↑ FishBase : SpeciesList of Loricariidae

[:0-1] ¹ ² Covain R. & Fisch-Muller S. The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis (English) // Zootaxa : journal. - (2007). - Vol. 1462 . - P. 1–40 . - ISSN 1175-5326 . - DOI : 10.11646 / zootaxa.1462.1.1 .

[2] Armbruster JW "Loricariid taxa list" .

[3] Reis, Roberto E .; Pereira, Edson HL; Armbruster, Jonathan W. (2006). "Delturinae, a new loricariid catfish subfamily (Teleostei, Siluriformes), with revisions of Delturus and Hemipsilichthys " // Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 147 (2): 277-299. DOI : 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.2006.00229.x

[4] FishBase : SpeciesList of Loricariidae