Brochiloricaria is a small genus of armored catfishes native to South America.
Brochiloricaria | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Siluriformes |
Family: | Loricariidae |
Tribe: | Loricariini |
Genus: | Brochiloricaria Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1979 |
Type species | |
Brochiloricaria chauliodon Isbrücker, 1979
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Species
editThere are currently two recognized species in this genus:[1]
- Brochiloricaria chauliodon Isbrücker, 1979
- Brochiloricaria macrodon (Kner, 1853)
Appearance and anatomy
editBrochiloricaria is morphologically very similar to Loricaria and can be distinguished from the latter only by its teeth characteristics; in Brochiloricaria, the teeth are very long and of equal size on both jaws, while in Loricaria the premaxillary teeth are almost two times longer than dentary teeth.[2] However, dentition may not be a reliable characteristic to differentiate to genera, so Brochiloricaria may actually be a synonym of Loricaria.[2]
Both species of Brochiloricaria reach almost 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.[1]
Ecology
editBrochiloricaria is an abdomino-lip brooder.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Brochiloricaria". FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ a b c Covain, Raphael; Fisch-Muller, Sonia (2007). "The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1462: 1–40. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1462.1.1.