''Guyanancistrus brevispinis'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. 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 s ...

native to South America, where it occurs in the Atlantic coastal drainages of the

Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

, ranging from the Nickerie River basin to the Oyapock basin in French Guiana and

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. It has also been reported from

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, but this is believed to be a misidentification. The species is considered the most common and abundant member of the genus ''

Guyanancistrus ''Guyanancistrus'' is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. Species There are currently 8 recognized species in this genus: * '' Guyanancistrus brevispinis'' ( Heitmans, Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1983) * ''Guyanancistrus brownsbergensis'' Mo ...

'', occurring in rocky streams with flowing water, especially in the vicinity of plunging waters. It is known to coexist with members of the genus ''

Lithoxus ''Lithoxus'' is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes native to tropical South America. Taxonomy ''Lithoxus'' is supported as a monophyletic sister to '' Exastilithoxus''. Together, these two genera form a well-supported clade. Species ...

'' in small forested creeks as well as

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

. The species reaches 14.2 cm (5.6 inches) 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 m ...

. ''Guyanancistrus brevispinis'' appears in the aquarium trade, where it is often referred to either as the shortspined wing pleco or by its associated

L-number The L-number system is a semi-scientific classification system of catfish based on photographs of shipments of tropical catfish of the family Loricariidae published by the German aquarium magazine DATZ (Die Aquarien- und Terrarienzeitschrift (The ...

, which is L-041.

References

Hypostominae Fish described in 1983 Catfish of South America Fish of French Guiana Fish of Suriname {{Hypostominae-stub