''Loricaria'' 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 ...

of armored catfish native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Taxonomy

''Loricaria'' was the first genus of the family Loricariidae described. Thus, it is the nominal genus of the family Loricariidae.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

relationships within ''Loricaria'' and among other members of Loricariini remain uncertain. Its external morphology shows few shared derived characters, making comparison with other genera difficult. ''Loricaria'' has been hypothesized to occupy a basal position among members of the subtribe Loricariina, with the other genera possessing derived characters. Based on the characteristics of its mouth, ''Loricaria'' appears to maintain a close relationship with representatives of the ''

Pseudohemiodon ''Pseudohemiodon'' is a genus of Loricariidae, armored catfishes native to South America. Species There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * ''Pseudohemiodon amazonus'' (Hendricus Christoffel Delsman, Delsman, 1941) * ''Pseudo ...

'' group. ''Proloricaria'' is considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''Loricaria''.

Species

These are the currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Loricaria apeltogaster'' Boulenger, 1895 * '' Loricaria birindellii'' M. R. Thomas & Sabaj Pérez, 2010 * ''

Loricaria cataphracta ''Loricaria cataphracta'', sometimes known as the chocolate loricariid, is a species of catfish in the genus ''Loricaria'' and the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Amazon River basin, as well as coastal ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

* '' Loricaria clavipinna'' Fowler, 1940 * '' Loricaria coximensis'' M. S. Rodriguez, Cavallaro & M. R. Thomas, 2012Rodriguez, M.S., Cavallaro, M.R. & Thomas, M.R. (2012): ''A New Diminutive Species of'' Loricaria ''(Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Rio Paraguay System, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.'' Copeia 2012, (1): 49–56. * '' Loricaria cuffyi'' Londoño-Burbano, Urbano-Bonilla & Matthew R. Thomas, 2020 * '' Loricaria holmbergi'' M. S. Rodriguez & Miquelarena, 2005 * '' Loricaria lata'' C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1889 * ''

Loricaria lentiginosa ''Loricaria lentiginosa'' is a species of catfish of the family Loricariidae. It is endemic to the upper Paraná River basin in Brazil. It reaches 51.4 cm (20.2 inches) in standard length and is believed to be a facultative air-breather. The spe ...

'' Isbrücker, 1979 * '' Loricaria luciae'' M. R. Thomas, M. S. Rodriguez, Cavallaro, Froehlich & R. M. C. Castro, 2013Thomas, M.R., Rodriguez, M.S., Cavallaro, M.R., Froehlich, O. & Corrêa E Castro, R.M. (2013): ''Loricaria luciae'', a new species of whiptail catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Paraguay and lower Paraná River basins of southeastern South America. ''Zootaxa, 3745 (3): 365–378.'' * '' Loricaria lundbergi'' M. R. Thomas & Rapp Py-Daniel, 2008 * '' Loricaria nickeriensis'' Isbrücker, 1979 * '' Loricata nimairaco'' Londoño-Burbano, Urbano-Bonilla, Thomas & Britto, 2023 * '' Loricaria parnahybae''

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1907 * '' Loricaria piracicabae'' R. Ihering ( pt), 1907 * '' Loricaria pumila'' M. R. Thomas & Rapp Py-Daniel, 2008 * '' Loricaria simillima'' Regan, 1904 * '' Loricaria spinulifera'' M. R. Thomas & Rapp Py-Daniel, 2008 * '' Loricaria tucumanensis'' Isbrücker, 1979

Distribution and habitat

This genus is distributed east of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in nearly the entire tropical and subtropical parts of South America. Species occur in a variety of habitats from the main flow of rivers on sandy and rocky bottoms to flooded areas and lakes over muddy and sandy bottoms.

Description

''Loricaria'' species are recognized by the presence of elongate, slender filaments on the lips and a low number of

bicuspid The premolars, also called premolar teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant in the permanent set of teeth, making eight premolars total in the mou ...

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammals h ...

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

(usually three to four per side) that are about twice the length of the

dentary In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone ...

teeth.

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

includes hypertrophied development of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

spines, blunt

odontode Odontodes, or dermal teeth, are hard structures found on the external surfaces of animals or near internal openings. They consist of a soft pulp surrounded by dentine and covered by a mineralized substance such as enamel, a structure similar to t ...

s on the

pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...

and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

spines, and tooth crowns becoming shortened and rounded in mature males. For the four species characterized,

karyotypic A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

diversity ranges from 2n = 62 to 2n = 68.

Ecology

The site of egg deposition varies between different members of the genus. In some species, eggs are carried on the enlarged lower lip of the male. ''L. piracicabae'' has its egg adherent to its ventral surface. Males are abdomino-lip brooders.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1755146 Loricariini Fish of South America Catfish genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Freshwater fish genera