''Ancistomus micrommatos'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...
in the family
Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are not ...
. It is a
freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of ...
native to
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 sout ...
, where it is known only from the
Tocantins River
The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , 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 ...
basin in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The species reaches 11.9 cm (4.7 inches) in
standard length. Although originally described as a species of ''
Hemiancistrus
''Hemiancistrus'' is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. These species are native to South America. The taxonomy of this genus is complex and unclear, and major work has to be done. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish.
Taxonomy
...
'' in 2003, a 2015 review conducted by Jonathan W. Armbruster (of
Auburn University), David C. Werneke, and Milton Tan listed the species as valid within ''
Ancistomus''.
[Armbruster, J. W., Werneke, D. C., & Tan, M. (2015). Three new species of saddled loricariid catfishes, and a review of Hemiancistrus, Peckoltia, and allied genera (Siluriformes). ''ZooKeys'', (480), 97–123. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.480.6540] The same review also reported that no characteristics were found to separate ''A. micrommatos'' from its congeners ''
A. spilomma'' and ''
A. spinosissimus'', indicating that the three may actually all be the same species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q115728658, from2=Q9002568
Fish described in 2003
Hypostominae