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.
The type specimen of the Aspidoras
genera is A. rochai, R. von Ihering 1907 and the very
latest discovery in 2005 wasAspidoras
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Table 1. Morphometric characters in mm to the nearest tenth,
and counts of the primary type-specimens of the species of Aspidoras,
13 species from, Key to the Species of Aspidoras; Nijssen &
Isbrücker, 1976.
sl
bd
bw
Ids
Ips
h1
sn
Ibo
wi
ca
dcp
D
P1
A
P2
C
dbs
vbs
pas
rochai
39.9
10.6
10.4
-
-
10.2
5.4
1.9
4.5
4.5
5.5
1,7,i
i,5
i,6
1,9
7/7
27
24
6
raimundi
25.5
6.7
6.0
4.0
4.5
6.4
3.1
1.8
3.0
2.0
3.6
1,7,i
i,6
ii,5
1,9
7/7
25
23
4
Iakoi
33.4
10.4
9.1
3.2
5.1
9.6
4.8
1.2
4.6
3.2
4.9
1,7,i
i,6
i,5
1,9
7/7
26
24
11
pauciradiatus
23.2
6.8
5.9
4.5
5.5
6.2
2.5
1.7
2.8
3.5
2.9
i,6,i
i,5
i,6
1,7
7/7
23
20
2
albater
35.6
9.0
8.9
4.4
6.5
9.9
5.5
2.0
4.0
3.9
4.8
i,7,i
1,6
ii,5
1,8
7/7
26
23
5
brunneus
20.9
5.4
5.3
3.0
3.6
5.8
3.1
1.5
2.4
2.2
3.0
1,7,i
i,6
ii,5
1,9
7/7
26
23
4
carvalhoi
25.4
7.4
6.8
3.9
4.9
6.6
3.4
1.3
3.2
3.1
3.8
1,7,i
i,5
ii,5
1,9
7/7
25
22
4
eurycephalus
29.5
8.2
7.5
2.9
3.3
8.0
4.3
1.5
4.2
3.0
4.5
1,7,i
1,5
ii,5
1,9
7/7
26
23
4
fuscoguttatus
32.0
9.2
8.5
4.7
4.9
8.6
4.5
1.4
4.0
4.0
4.7
1,7,i
1,5
i,5
1,8
7/7
27
24
3
maculosus
37.2
9.7
8.7
4.8
5.5
9.5
5.1
2.3
3.8
5.8
4.8
1,7,i
i,5
ii,5
1,8
7/7
26
23
3
menezesi
41.8
11.2
10.3
5.8
7.5
10.9
5.9
2.4
4.1
4.7
5.5
1.7,i
i,5
ii,5
1,9
7/7
26
23
6
poecilus
29.2
8,3
7.1
5.4
5.9
7.8
4.1
1.9
3.7
2.4
4.2
1,7,i
1,5
ii,5
1,8
7/7
25
22
6
spilotus
34.0
8.2
8.1
4.2
5.5
9.3
5.1
1.9
3.2
3.5
4.1
1,7,i
1,5
1,5
1,9
7/7
25
22
3
Definition of Terms: sl: standard length; bd: body depth; body width;
Ids: length of dorsal spine; Ips: length of pectoral
spine; h1: head length; sn: snout length; Ibo:
length of bony orbit; wi: least width of the interorbital;
ca: width of corcoid area; dcp: least depth of
the caudal peduncle; D:dorsal fin; P1:
pelvic fin: A: anal fin; P2:
pectoral fin; C: caudal fin; dbs: number of dorsolateral body
scutes; vbs: number of ventrolateral body scutes; pas:
number of pre-adipose scutes.
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.
is a link to an image and some information. 
is a factsheet on the species. 
denotes an article.
