Spatuloricaria

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Spatuloricaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Loricariidae Subfamily: Loricariinae Tribe: Loricariini Genus: Spatuloricaria Schultz, 1944
Type species
Spatuloricaria phelpsi Schultz, 1944
Species
S. atratoensis S. caquetae S. curvispina S. euacanthagenys S. evansii S. fimbriata S. gymnogaster S. lagoichthys S. nudiventris S. phelpsi S. puganensis
Synonyms
Euacanthagenys Fowler, 1945

Spatuloricaria is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae. It includes eleven currently recognized species.^[1][2]

Spatuloricaria is in need of revision, as species boundaries and distributions are poorly known. The phylogenetic position of Spatuloricaria remains uncertain. Spatuloricaria has been placed at the base of a clade including representatives of the Loricaria and Pseudohemiodon groups. Its dentition, with few teeth on the premaxillae, and its abdominal cover consisting of minute disjointed platelets resembles that of some representatives of the Loricaria group. Conversely, the papillose surface of the lips and sexually dimorphic features are more characteristic of the Rineloricaria group.^[2]

This genus is distributed in the northwestern part of the South American subcontinent, in drainages of the Pacific and Atlantic Slopes of the Andes. Several species occur also in the upper Amazon River basin, upper Paraguay, and São Francisco River basins.^[2]

Sexual dimorphism includes hypertrophied development of claw-like odontodes along the sides of the head and on the pectoral spines in mature males.^[2] Ecological data is unavailable and reproductive biology is unknown for Spatuloricaria species.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Covain, Raphael; Fisch-Muller, Sonia (2007). "The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis" (PDF). Zootaxa 1462: 1–40.