Corydoras Temporal range: 58.5–0 Ma Late Paleocene - Recent |
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Corydoras melanotaenia | |
Corydoras sterbai | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Siluriformes |
Family: | Callichthyidae |
Tribe: |
Corydoradini Hoedeman, 1952 |
Genus: |
Corydoras Lacépède, 1803 |
Type species | |
Corydoras geoffroy Lacépède, 1803 |
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Synonyms | |
Brochis Cope, 1871 |
Brochis Cope, 1871
Chaenothorax Cope, 1878
Cordorinus Rafinesque, 1815
Gastrodermus Cope, 1878
Hoplisoma Swainson, 1838
Microcorydoras Myers, 1953
Osteogaster Cope, 1894
Corydoras is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost equals the area of distribution of the family, except for Panama where Corydoras is not present.Corydoras species are distributed in South America where found east of the Andes to the Atlantic coast, from Trinidad to the Río de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina. Species assigned to Corydoras display a broad diversity of body shapes and coloration.Corydoras are small fish, ranging from 25 to 120 mm (0.98 to 4.72 in) in SL.
The name Corydoras is derived from the Greek kory (helmet) and doras (skin).Corydoras is by far the largest genus of Neotropical fishes with more than 160 species. It is the sole genus in the tribe Corydoradini.C. difluviatilis is recognized as the basalmost species of Corydoradini, exhibiting several plesiomorphic features compared to the other species of Corydoras. The type species for this genus is Corydoras geoffroy. Several hundred species are not yet classified, but kept by aquarists. These species are given 'C-numbers', originally devised by Hans-Georg Evers for the German fishkeeping magazine DATZ in 1993. In 2006, 153 C-numbers had been assigned, of which 32 had been assigned appropriate scientific names.