''Aspidoras'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

es of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Callichthyidae Callichthyidae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes), called armored catfishes due to the two rows of bony plates (or scutes) along the lengths of their bodies. It contains some of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish, such as many ...

from Brazil.

Taxonomy

The type species for this genus is '' Aspidoras rochai''. The name ''Aspidoras'' is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''aspis'' (shield) and ''dora'' (skin). ''Aspidoras'' is easily distinguished from the other genera of the subfamily Corydoradinae by the presence of a

supraoccipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone lies over the occipital lobes of the cere ...

fontanel A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an human body, anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft Membrane, membranous gaps (suture (joint), sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria (skull), ...

; this character is an

autapomorphy In phylogenetics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive feature, known as a Synapomorphy, derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon. That is, it is found only in one taxon, but not found in any others or Outgroup (cladistics), outgroup taxa, not ...

for the genus. Many of the species of ''Aspidoras'' are similar and often hard to distinguish. Without specimens, it is often very difficult to positively identify a species from photographs alone. They are all small species. ''A. taurus'' is exceptional in that it just surpasses 5 cm in length. The

monophyly In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent comm ...

of the genus has been demonstrated.

Species

There are currently 18 recognized species in this genus: * '' Aspidoras albater'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 (False macropterus) * '' Aspidoras aldebaran'' Tencatt, M. R. Britto, Isbrücker & Pavanelli, 2022 * '' Aspidoras azaghal'' Tencatt, Muriel-Cunha, Zuanon, Ferreira & Britto, 2020 * '' Aspidoras belenos'' M. R. Britto, 1998 * '' Aspidoras brunneus'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * '' Aspidoras carvalhoi'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * '' Aspidoras depinnai'' M. R. Britto, 2000 * '' Aspidoras fuscoguttatus'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * '' Aspidoras gabrieli'' Wosiacki, T. G. Pereira & R. E. dos Reis, 2014 * '' Aspidoras kiriri'' Oliveira, Zanata, Tencatt & M. R. Britto * '' Aspidoras lakoi'' P. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1949 * '' Aspidoras maculosus'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * ''

Aspidoras mephisto ''Aspidoras'' is a genus of catfishes of the family Callichthyidae from Brazil. Taxonomy The type species for this genus is '' Aspidoras rochai''. The name ''Aspidoras'' is derived from the Greek ''aspis'' (shield) and ''dora'' (skin). ''Aspid ...

'' Tencatt & Bichuette, 2017 * '' Aspidoras poecilus'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * '' Aspidoras psammatides'' M. R. Britto, F. C. T. Lima & A. C. A. Santos, 2005 * ''

Aspidoras raimundi ''Aspidoras'' is a genus of catfishes of the family (biology), family Callichthyidae from Brazil. Taxonomy The type species for this genus is ''Aspidoras rochai''. The name ''Aspidoras'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek ''aspis'' (shiel ...

'' Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 * '' Aspidoras rochai'' R. Ihering, 1907 * '' Aspidoras velites'' M. R. Britto, F. C. T. Lima & C. L. R. Moreira, 2002

Distribution

''Aspidoras'' species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to small and shallow streams draining the Brazilian Shield. The species of ''Aspidoras'' are distributed in eastern and central Brazil. Most species are narrowly endemic, occurring in restricted areas of some major river drainages: ''A. fuscoguttatus'' and ''A. lakoi'' from the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

system. ''A. albater'', ''A. eurycephalus'' and ''A. gabrieli'' from the

Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( , Parkatêjê dialect, Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak"). It ...

system. ''A. brunneus'', ''A. marianae'' and ''A. microgalaeus'' from the

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; ; ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. __TOC__ Description and history The fir ...

system. ''A. belenos'', ''A. pauciradiatus'' and ''A. velites'' from

Araguaia River The Araguaia River ( , Karajá language, Karajá: ♂ ''Berohokỹ'' eɾohoˈkə̃ ♀ ''Bèrakuhukỹ'' ɛɾakuhuˈkə̃ is one of the major rivers of Brazil, and a tributary of the Tocantins River. Geography The Araguaia River comes from ...

system. ''A. rochai'' from rivers around

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. ''A. raimundi'' from the

Parnaíba River The Parnaíba River ( ) is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. Its main course is long and the Parnaíba River Basin covers .Ramos, T.P.A.; Ramos, R.T.C.; and Ramos, S.A.Q.A. (2014). Ichthyofaun ...

. ''A. carvalhoi'' from rivers around

Guaramiranga Guaramiranga is one of the smallest towns of the Northeastern state of Ceará in Brazil. It is located at an altitude of 865 m in the Serra de Baturité hills 110 km from the state capital of Fortaleza. Guaramiranga is known locally for its ...

, Ceará State. ''A. maculosus'' from the

Itapicuru River The Itapicuru River is a river in Bahia state of eastern Brazil. The Itapicuru rises in the northern part of the state, and flows east to empty into the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders o ...

. ''A. menezesi'' from the

Jaguaribe River The Jaguaribe River is a highly seasonal river in Ceará state of northeastern Brazil. Two large dams were constructed across the Jaguaribe, the Orós Dam, completed in 1960, and the Castanhão Dam, completed in 2003. The Castanhão Dam flooded t ...

. ''A. spilotus'' from the Acaráu River. ''A. poecilus'' from the

, and

systems. ''A. psammatides'' from the

Paraguaçu River The Paraguaçu River () is a river in Bahia state, located in eastern Brazil. It runs from the Chapada Diamantina highlands of central Bahia to its mouth at the Baía de Todos os Santos. The Paraguaçu River is the largest river entirely within B ...

. ''A. virgulatus'' from the coastal rivers in

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

. ''A. depinnai'' is from the Ipojuca River basin, Pernambuco State. ''A. taurus'' is known from the upper

Itiquira River The Itiquira River is a river of Mato Grosso state in western Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Mato Grosso List of rivers in Mato Grosso (Brazilian State). The list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under ea ...

and upper

Taquari River The Taquari River () is a river in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. It is a left tributary of the Paraguay River. The town of Coxim is situated on the Taquari. The Taquari River is considered the most degraded river in ...

, both tributaries of the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (''Ysyry Paraguái'' in Guarani language, Guarani, ''Rio Paraguai'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Río Paraguay'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bol ...

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

State, Brazil.

In the aquarium

''Aspidoras'' do fairly well in aquaria under similar conditions as for most ''Corydoras'' species. The water conditions that seem best are a pH of 6.8 to 7.0 and a temperature of about 22 °C to 26 °C. The species that is most likely to be found in an aquarium is the sixray corydoras, '' Aspidoras pauciradiatus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136190 Callichthyidae Taxa named by Rodolpho von Ihering Fish of South America Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera