Lasiancistrus
| Lasiancistrus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lasiancistrus schomburgkii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Subfamily: | Hypostominae |
| Tribe: | Ancistrini |
| Genus: |
Lasiancistrus Regan, 1904 |
| Type species | |
|
Chaetostomus heteracanthus Günther, 1869 |
|
Lasiancistrus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. They are native to South America and Panama.
Lasiancistrus was first described as a subgenus of Ancistrus in 1904, including A. heteracanthus, A. pictus, A. mystacinus, and A. guacharote. Later, it was raised to genus level, and several unrelated species were included. Many of these species have since been moved to other genera, such as Pseudolithoxus. Most Lasiancistrus species had been described from few specimens; the genus was revised in 2005, synonymizing many of the existing species into four species, L. caucanus, L. guacharote, L. heteracanthus, and L. schomburgkii. L. maracaiboensis and L. mystacinus are synonyms of L. guacharote. L. castelnaui, L. caquetae, L. guapore, L. multispinis, L. pictus, and L. scolymus are synonyms of L. schomburgkii. L. planiceps, L. mayoloi, and L. volcanensis are synonyms of L. caucanus. In addition, two new species, L. saetiger and L. tentaculatus, were described.
There are currently six recognized species in this genus:
Unlike many other members of Ancistrini, the ranges of most of the Lasiancistrus species are quite broad. Lasiancistrus species are found throughout the Amazon basin, the upper and middle of the Orinoco River basin, the Rupununi River basin (Essequibo River drainage), the Lake Maracaibo drainage, and drainages west of the Andes in Colombia and Panama to the Bayano River.
The species of Lasiancistrus are most commonly found in small creeks, typically in swift flow. However, some of the streams where Lasiancistrus can be found are in the lowlands, and hypoxia has been observed in one such stream, suggesting that lowlands are not a barrier to the movement of these species. Lasiancistrus are most common in lower piedmont streams and are more likely to spread between rivers this way rather than through the lowlands.
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Wikipedia