Loricariidae

Loricariidae
Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Present[1] Possible Cenomanian record[2]
Loricaria simillima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Superfamily: Loricarioidea
Family: Loricariidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Subfamilies

Genus †Afrocascudo?
Delturinae
Hypoptopomatinae
Hypostominae
Lithogeneinae
Loricariinae
Neoplecostominae
Otothyrinae (sometimes included in Hypoptopomatinae)
Genus Nannoplecostomus (incertae sedis)[3]

Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genera and just over 680 species.[4] 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.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Malabarba was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brito, P. M.; Dutheil, D. B.; Gueriau, P.; Keith, P.; Carnevale, G.; Britto, M.; Meunier, F. J.; Khalloufi, B.; King, A.; de Amorim, P. F.; Costa, W. J. E. M. (2024). "A saharan fossil and the dawn of Neotropical armoured catfishes in Gondwana". Gondwana Research. 132: 103–112. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2024.04.008.
  3. ^ Ribeiro, Alexandre C.; Lima, Flávio C. T.; Pereira, Edson H. L. (2012). "A New Genus and Species of a Minute Suckermouth Armored Catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Rio Tocantins Drainage, Central Brazil: The Smallest Known Loricariid Catfish". Copeia. 2012 (4): 637–647. doi:10.1643/ci-11-137. S2CID 84436639.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nelson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).