his
is a synopsis on the 20 (2*added to make 20 from 18,
updated Oct. 2009) species known from this small popular
genera of the Callichthyidae family and the differences
between them and the other members of the mailed catfishes.
All photos are by myself or otherwise
indicated.
The type
specimen of the Aspidoras genera is A. rochai,
R. von Ihering 1907 and the latest discovery in 2005
was Aspidoras
psammatides, Britto,
Lima & Santos, 2005 and
three years before that, Aspidoras velites
Britto, Lima & Moreira, 2002. Below is the list
of the 20 known species of Aspidoras and their
exact location when discovered. See 2018 update
further down page.
Species
with
is a link to an image and some information.
is a factsheet on the species.
denotes an article.
Aspidoras albater, Nijssen &
Isbrücker 1976. Rio Tocantinzinha near São
João da Aliança, 14°46'S, 47°30'W,
Rio Tocantins system, Goiás, Brazil. 
Aspidoras belenos, Britto 1998. Creek
at Primavera do Leste - Paranatinga road, rio das
Mortes basin, Estado do Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Aspidoras brunneus, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Serra do Roncador, km 125 of the road Chavantina-Casximba,
Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Aspidoras carvalhoi, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Açude Canabrava, Guaramiranga, Ceará,
Brazil. 
Aspidoras depinnai, Britto 2000. Creek
at Amaraji-Primavera road, rio Ipojuca basin, 8°21'S,
35°26'W, Pernambuco State, Brazil.
Aspidoras eurycephalus, Nijssen &
Isbrücker 1976. Rio Tocantins system, Corrego
Vermelho into Rio das Almas, trib. of Rio Maranhao,
ca. 15°S, 49°30'W, Goiás, Brazil.
Aspidoras fuscoguttatus, Nijssen &
Isbrücker 1976. Rio Paraná system, Córrego
Corguinho, estrada da Três Lagoas, 20°46'S,
51°43'W, Mato Grosso, Brazil. 
Aspidoras lakoi, Miranda-Ribeiro 1949.
Córrego na floresta do Grotão, frazenda
da Cachoeira, Muncípio de Passos, Minas Gerais,
Brazil. 
Aspidoras maculosus, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Rio Paiaiá, into headwaters of Rio Itapicurú,
ca. 11°S, 40°30'W, Bahia, Brazil.

Aspidoras menezesi, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Rio Granjeiro at Crato, 7°10'S, 39°25'W,
trib. on left bank of Rio Salgado, Ceará, Brazil.

Aspidoras microgalaeus, Britto 1998.
Small trib. of rio Culuene, km 86 of Paranatinga-Canarana
road, rio Xingú basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Aspidoras (Corydoras)
pauciradiatus (Weitzman & Nijssen 1970).
Rio Araquaia, Brazil.
Aspidoras poecilus, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Creek upstream of village Porori, left bank
of upper Rio Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brazil. 
Aspidoras
psammatides,* Britto, Lima & Santos,
2005. Brazil, Estado da Bahia.
Aspidoras raimundi (Steindachner 1907).
Rio Parnahyba near Victoria, Maranhao State, Brazil.

Aspidoras rochai, R. von Ihering 1907.
Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 
*Aspidoras spilotus, Nijssen & Isbrücker
1976. Riacho dos Macacos, trib. of R. Acaráu,
Ceará, Brazil.
*(now synomyn of A. menezesi)
Aspidoras taurus, Lima & Britto
2001. R. Itiquira, R. Paraguai system, 16°56'S,
53°32'W, Fazenda Cabeceira do Itiquira, close
to hwy BR-364, Alto Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Aspidoras
velites, * Britto, Lima & Moreira,
2002. Brazil, Est. Mato Grosso, upper Rio Araguaia
basin, Rio Tocantins drainage.
*Aspidoras
virgulatus, Nijssen & Isbrücker 1980.
Espírito Santo, Brazil.
*Now Scleromystax
virgulatus
As can be gleaned from the above information, the
genus Aspidoras are all to be found in Brazil,
and that is where some of the identification problems
arise, as a vast majority of the species are similarly
coloured and marked and if you don't know the right
location/river that they come from you are at a disadvantage
right away as they will arrive from a central exporter
in Brazil with maybe not even the right name attached
to them.
Remarks:
As of the beginning
of 2018 there are now 21 described species,
6 C-numbers and 3 CW-numbers
and A. spilotus is now a synomyn of
A. menezesi.
Below are the updates.
Anatomical
differences between Aspidoras and Corydoras:
Eye: very small in Aspidoras small in
Corydoras.
Body shape: smaller size and body shape in
Aspidoras compared to the much more bulkier
Corydoras.
Head: smaller head shape in Aspidoras
compared with Corydoras. Aspidoras posses
a duel fontanel bone structure in the skull whereas
Corydoras have only the one larger fontanel.
Below are line drawings of the skull formation of
both genera and also a photo for clearer classification.



KEY
TO THE SPECIES OF ASPIDORAS
Ia. Snout length 2.5 or more in hi; length pectoral
spine less than 4.5 in sl: number of dorso- and ventrolateral
body scutes 23120; dorsal fin with a spine and 6 soft
rays, last ray split to its base.......................
Aspidoras pauciradiatus(Weitzman & Nijssen,
1970)
b. Snout length 2.1 or less in hI; length pectoral
spine'more than 4.5 in sI; number of dorso- and ventrolateral
body scutes 25/22 or more: dorsal fin with. a spine
and 7 soft rays, last ray split to its base............
2
2a. Dorsolateral body scutes with a longitudinal solid
dark brown band................ Aspidoras brunneus
n. sp.
b. Dorsolateral body scutes without longitudinal solid
dark brown band..........................................
3
3a. Body with about 4 distinct oblique bars....................................................
Aspidoras albater n. sp.
b. Body with other colour markings or without colour
markings............................................................................................................................
4
4a. Body with distinct dark midlateral blotches...........................................................................5
b. Body without distinct dark midlateral blotches........................................................................6
5a. Length bony orbit 5.3 or more in hi; body width
3.8 in sl;
6 pre-adipose scutes...................................................................
Aspidoras rochai R. von lhering,1907
b. Length bony orbit 5.0 or less in hI; body width
3.9 or more in sI; 3 to 4 pre-adipose scutes
................................................................................................Aspidoras
spilotus n. sp.
6a. Body without colour pattern....................................................
Aspidoras carvalhoi n. sp.
b. Body with a colour pattern.................................................................................................
7
7a. Length bony orbit 6.5 or more in hi; 6 or (usually)
more pre-adipose scutes
............................................................................................Aspidoras
lakoi, P. de Miranda Ribeiro, 1949
b. Combination of length bony orbit and number of
pre adipose scutes not as in 7a...........................
8
8a. Body marbled with brown and with some rows of
small roundish dark brown spots (lacking in juveniles)
.............................................................................................
Aspidoras fuscoguttatus n. sp.
b. Body marbled with brown, without rows of small
roundish dark brown spots..................................
9
9a. Body with irregular oblique brown marbling; length
dorsal spine 5.2 to 5.4 in sI....Aspidoras poecilus
n. sp.
b. Body with irregular oblique dorsal spine 6.3 to
8.9 in sI.................. Aspidoras sp. aff.
poecilus
c. Body with more or less roundish spots; length dorsal
spine more than 5.8 in sl........................................................................................................
10
l0a. Dorsal fin usually with a conspicuous, triangular
dark blotch..........Aspidoras raimundi (Steindachner,
1907)
b. Dorsal fin without a conspicuous, triangular dark
blotch..............................................................11
lla. Length pectoral spine more than 8.0 in sI; interorbital
width less than 2.0 in hI; length dorsal spine more
than
9.5 in sI...................................................................................
Aspidoras eurycephalus n. sp.
b. Length pectoral spine less than 8.0 in sl; interorbital
width more than 2,0 in hI; length dorsal spine less
than
9.5 in sl................................................................................................................................
12
l2a. Length dorsal spine more than 7.3 in sl; length
pectoral spine more than 5.7 in sI; body depth 3.8
to 4.0 in sI; body width 4.2 to 4.4 in sI; 3 to 4
pre-adipose scutes...................Aspidoras
maculosus n. sp.
b. Length dorsal spine less than 7.3 in sl; length
pectoral spine less than 5.7 in sI; body depth 3.3
to 3.8 in sI; body width 3.8 to 4.2 in sl; 5 to 6
pre-adipose scutes........................Aspidoras
menezesi n. sp.
References:
Catalog
of Fishes
Nijssen
& Isbrücker; 1976, The South American
Plated Catfish Genus Aspidoras, R. von Ihering,1907.
Nijssen
& Isbrücker; 1976, Key to the Species
of Aspidoras.
Sands,
David; Catfishes of The World Vol.1 Callichthyidae.
www.corydorasworld.com
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