Loricarioidea
| Loricarioidea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Pterygoplichthys sp. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Superfamily: |
Loricarioidea Rafinesque, 1815 |
| Families | |
|
(Amphiliidae) |
|
(Amphiliidae)
Astroblepidae
Callichthyidae
Loricariidae
Nematogenyiidae
Scoloplacidae
Trichomycteridae
Loricarioidea is a superfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes). It contains the six families Trichomycteridae, Nematogenyiidae, Callichthyidae, Scoloplacidae, Astroblepidae, and Loricariidae. Some schemes also include Amphiliidae. This superfamily, including Amphiliidae, includes about 156 genera and 1,187 species.
Loricarioidea is traditionally considered a part of Siluroidei, a clade of all catfishes excluding Diplomystidae. In Nelson, 2006, this grouping is sister to the superfamily Sisoroidea. However, in a recent molecular analysis, it was determined that the suborder Loricarioidei (not including Amphiliidae) is sister to a group including Diplomystidae and Siluroidei. Amphiliidae, in this analysis, was found to be much more closely related to Mochokidae or Malapteruridae.
Loricarioidea is currently diagnosed by the derived presence of a reduced gas bladder, encapsulated in expansions of the parapophysis of the first vertebrae, and of odontodes, small dermal denticles. Amphiliidae is the most basal group in Loricarioidea. In some older sources, Amphiliidae is not even included in this classification. Based on morphologically evidence, Trichomycteridae and Nematogenyiidae diverge first; these two families are probably sister groups. This relationship was neither supported nor rejected by molecular evidence. Next, the order of divergence is probably Callichthyidae, then Scoloplacidae, and then Astroblepidae and Loricariidae. A trend in increasingly complex jaw morphology can be seen in this superfamily, which may have allowed for the great diversification of the Loricariidae, which have the most advanced jaws.
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