''Dentectus barbarmatus'' is the only

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

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 ...

''Dentectus'', a genus of armored catfish. This species is

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 ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

where it is found in the upper

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

drainage. There is very little ecological and behavioral information on this species. This species reaches SL. Although it has been placed within the ''Pseudohemiodon'' group based on its strongly depressed body, filamentous lips with long fringed

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whisker like sensory organ near the mouth (sometimes called whiskers or tendrils). Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the z ...

, and small, spoon-shaped and dentition, ''Dentectus'' also shows unique derived features such as the presence of plates along the outer margin of its maxillary barbels, and a unique mouth structure that distinguishes it from all other genera.

References

Loricariini Fish of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Taxa named by Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker Taxa named by Han Nijssen Monotypic freshwater fish genera Catfish genera {{Loricariinae-stub