''Spectracanthicus tocantinensis'' 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 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 lower
Tocantins River
The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê dialect, 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 ...
in the state of
Pará
Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
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 9.3 cm (3.7 inches) SL. Its specific epithet, ''tocantinensis'', refers to its
type locality, the Tocantins.
''S. tocantinensis'' occasionally appears in the aquarium trade, where it is typically referred to either as the spotted Maraba pleco (presumably referencing the Brazilian municipality of
Marabá, located near the confluence of the Tocantins and the
Itacaiúnas River
The Itacaiúnas River is a river of Pará state in north-central Brazil.
Part of the river basin is in the Tapirapé-Aquiri National Forest, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1989.
See also
*List of rivers of Pará
List of rivers i ...
) or by one of two associated
L-numbers, which are L-086 and LDA-014.
References
{{taxonbar, from=Q21325285
Fish described in 2014
Freshwater fish of Brazil
Loricariidae