''Pseudoqolus koko'' 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 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 ...

and the only species in the genus ''Pseudoqolus''. It is a freshwater fish 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 Maroni basin. It is usually found on or near stony substrates in the main river channel at a depth of around 2 m (6.6 ft). The species has been collected alongside multiple other loricariid species, including ''Hemiancistrus medians'', ''Peckoltia otali'', ''Pseudancistrus barbatus'', ''Harttia guianensis'', ''Loricaria cataphracta'', and ''Rineloricaria stewarti''. It is noted that the gut contents of one specimen of this species contained primarily

spicules Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

and sponge fragments, indicating that it may feed on freshwater sponges. The species reaches 9 cm (3.5 inches) SL. ''Pseudoqolus koko'' was originally described as a member of the genus ''

Panaqolus ''Panaqolus'' is a genus of small catfish in the family Loricariidae native to rivers in tropical South America. Its members were formerly thought to belong to a clade of small-sized species in the genus ''Panaque'', until this genus was separate ...

'' (a genus which is sometimes thought to be a subgenus of ''

Panaque The genus ''Panaque'' contains a small number of small to medium-sized South American suckermouth armoured catfishes that are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that feed extensively on wood. In addition, algae and aufwuchs are a ...

'') in 2012, although it was reclassified as a member of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Pseudoqolus'' by Nathan K. Lujan, Christian A. Cramer, Raphael Covain, Sonia Fisch-Muller, and Hernán López-Fernández following a 2017 molecular phylogenetic analysis. P. koko has been stated to be morphologically, ecologically, and biogeographically distinct enough to warrant placement in this genus instead of ''Panaqolus''.Lujan, N. K., Cramer, C. A., Covain, R., Fisch-Muller, S., & López-Fernández, H. (2017). Multilocus molecular phylogeny of the ornamental wood-eating catfishes (Siluriformes, Loricariidae, Panaqolus and Panaque) reveals undescribed diversity and parapatric clades. ''Molecular phylogenetics and evolution'', ''109'', 321–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.040

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q41558014, from2=Q5522863 Ancistrini Catfish of South America Fish described in 2012 Monotypic ray-finned fish genera