''Aphanotorulus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of armored catfishes native to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wo ...

Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to: * Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana * Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana; * Esseq ...

and

Jaguaribe Jaguaribe is a municipality in the state of Ceará in the Northeast region of Brazil. The municipality contains part of the reservoir of the Castanhão Dam, the largest in the state. Notable people The English author Henry Koster (1793–1820) ...

basins in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

.Ray, C.K. & Armbruster, J.W. (2016): The genera ''Isorineloricaria'' and ''Aphanotorulus'' (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) with description of a new species. ''Zootaxa, 4072 (5): 501–539.'' They typically occur on a sand or gravel bottom in slow to moderately flowing rivers and streams, but some species occur in areas with fast current. The largest species in the genus reaches up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

Taxonomy

The

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of this genus has been a matter of dispute, all having been placed in ''

Hypostomus ''Hypostomus'' is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae. They are native to tropical and subtropical South America. '' H. plecostomus'' is the popular freshwater aquarium fish formerly known as ''Plecostomus plecostomus''. The taxonomic ...

'' in the past, and some occasionally placed in ''Squaliforma''. ''Squaliforma'' is now regarded as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 al ...

of ''Aphanotorulus'', but species west of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

have been moved to ''

Isorineloricaria ''Isorineloricaria'' is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae from northwestern South America. They live in rivers and streams, typically with slow to moderately running water, in the Orinoco, Maracaibo, Magdalena and Guayas basins (one ...

''. There are currently 7 recognized species of ''Aphanotorulus'': * ''

Aphanotorulus ammophilus ''Aphanotorulus ammophilus'', also known as the black spotted pleco or L094, is a species of benthopelagic tropical freshwater catfish in the family Loricariidae endemic to Venezuela, specifically the Río Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of ...

'' Armbruster &

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young ma ...

, 1996 * ''

Aphanotorulus emarginatus ''Aphanotorulus emarginatus'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Amazon River basin. The species reaches 15 cm (5.9 inches) in total length. It is known to be a facultative ...

'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, 1840) * ''

Aphanotorulus gomesi ''Aphanotorulus gomesi'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Jaguaribe River basin. The species reaches 14.3 cm (5.6 inches) SL. It is thought to be a facultative air-breath ...

'' ( Fowler, 1941) * '' Aphanotorulus horridus'' ( Kner, 1854) * ''

Aphanotorulus phrixosoma ''Aphanotorulus phrixosoma'' is a dubious species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the upper Amazon River basin. The species reaches 10.1 cm (4 inches) SL. It is believed to be a facultat ...

'' ( Fowler, 1940) * ''

Aphanotorulus rubrocauda ''Aphanotorulus rubrocauda'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is a freshwater fish native to South America, where it occurs in the Aripuanã River basin in the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso in Brazil. The species ...

'' Oliveira, Py-Daniel & Zawadzki, 2017 * ''

Aphanotorulus unicolor ''Aphanotorulus unicolor'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the upper Amazon River basin. The species reaches 13.9 cm (5.5 inches) SL. ''A. unicolor'' was originally describ ...

'' (

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 describ ...

, 1908) Of these species, the validity of ''A. phrixosoma'' is questionable, as the only known specimen likely is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

between ''A. horridus'' and ''A. unicolor''.

References

Hypostominae Fish of South America Catfish genera Taxa named by Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker Taxa named by Han Nijssen Freshwater fish genera {{Loricariidae-stub