''Peckoltia sabaji'' 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 ...

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. It is 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 southe ...

, where it occurs in the basins of the Rupununi, the Essequibo River, and the

Takutu River The Takutu River (Takatu River, Tacutu River) is a river in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana and Roraima in Brazil. It forms part of the boundary between the two countries. The confluence of the Takutu and Uraricoera Rivers form ...

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 ...

, as well as the basins of the

Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest r ...

, the Rio Negro, the

Cinaruco River Cinaruco River is a river of Colombia and Venezuela. It is part of the Orinoco River basin. It has partially clear tanic waters. In Venezuela this river is part of the Santos Luzardo National Park since the year 1988. The Cinaruco River together ...

, and the

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 wor ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is usually found among boulders in medium to large rivers. The species reaches 19.8 cm (7.8 inches) SL and is of disputed classification. ''P. sabaji'' was originally placed in the genus ''

Peckoltia ''Peckoltia'' is a genus of small South American Loricariidae, armored suckermouth catfishes. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish. Taxonomy ''Peckoltia'' is a Basal (phylogenetics), basal genus within the tribe Ancistrini of the subfami ...

'' by Jonathan W. Armbruster of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

in 2003, although Armbruster transferred the species to the genus ''

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 2008 following a review of ''Peckoltia'', and ''Hemiancistrus sabaji'' is still accepted by sources such as

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

. In 2015, Armbruster, alongside Nathan K. Lujan, Nathan R. Lovejoy, and Hernán López-Fernández, determined that ''P. sabaji'' should be moved out of ''Hemiancistrus'' and returned to ''Peckoltia'', and a subsequent taxonomic review conducted later in 2015 by Armbruster, David C. Werneke, and Milton Tan affirms this reclassification. The species has also at various points been suggested to be a member of '' Ancistrus'', ''

Ancistomus ''Ancistomus'' is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes found in shallow waters in rapidly flowing rivers in the southeastern Amazon basin in Brazil. Species There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus: * '' Ancistomus feldberga ...

'' (primarily a seemingly erroneous placement used in the aquarium trade), or possibly a new undescribed genus, although ''Peckoltia sabaji'' is the currently accepted name according to Armbruster, and it is also the name used by ITIS.

References

Ancistrini Fish described in 2003 Taxa named by Jonathan W. Armbruster {{Hypostominae-stub