| Hypoptopoma | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: | Hypoptopomatinae |
| Tribe: | Hypoptopomatini |
| Genus: | Hypoptopoma Günther, 1868 |
| Species | |
|
H. bilobatum |
|
| Synonyms | |
Hypoptopoma is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae.
The genus was established by Albert C. L. G. Günther in 1868 for his new species H. thoracatum, on the basis of the peculiar, depressed, spatulate formation of the head with the eyes on the lateral edges of the head.[1] This genus is very closely related to the genus Nannoptopoma; unlike Nannoptopoma, Hypoptopoma species have serrae on the posterior edge of the pectoral fin and paired series of abdominal plates composed by more than three plates each as opposed to one plate each.[1]
Hypoptopoma species inhabit the drainage basins to the east of the Andes, except for river systems draining to the Atlantic between the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil and the Paraná River in Argentina.[1]