SCOTCAT.COM  

Ingo Seidel (2) Hans-Georg Evers (2) Mark Allison (1)

The Aspidoras genera differ from Corydoras by their different behaviour such as their swimming habits. The eyes are smaller, body smaller and a 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. Many species of Aspidoras are difficult to tell apart unless there is catchment information available. Lineage: All Aspidoras belong to Lineage 2 and when there is a revision they will stay as Aspidoras von Ihering, 1907 with the type species of A. rochai Ihering, 1907. As of the latest update (Dias et al 2024), Aspidoras poecilus has been placed in Lineage 2 and has retained the genus name of Aspidoras. Aquarium Care: Aspidoras poecilis is fairly uncommon in the hobby but as with all of this genus they are best kept in groups of six or more and are best housed with small fishes that are not aggressive. Provide a planted area in the tank for cover and include a soft substrate such as sand or small rounded gravel. Diet: Flake, tablet foods, small live and frozen foods. Etymology: from poikílos, varicolored or mottled, referring to its colour pattern. Remarks: Aspidoras microgalaeus and A. marianae are both synonyms of A. poecilis. C037 and C158 are the same species. Many species of Aspidoras are difficult to tell apart unless there is area catchment information available.

C037, C158

Aspidoras marianae, Aspidoras microgalaeus

Callichthyidae

South America: Brazil, Mato Grosso, creek upstream of village Porori, left bank of Rio Xingu, upper Rio Xingu.

Male: 4.0cm (1½ins) Female: 4.5cm (1¾ins)

22-24°C (71-75°F)

6.5-7.2.

Alexandrou, Markos & Taylor, Martin. (2011). Evolution, ecology and taxonomy of the Corydoradinae revisited.
Angelica C Dias, Luiz F C Tencatt, Fabio F Roxo, Gabriel de Souza da Costa Silva, Sérgio A Santos, Marcelo R Britto, Martin I Taylor, Claudio Oliveira, Phylogenomic analyses in the complex Neotropical subfamily Corydoradinae (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) with a new classification based on morphological and molecular data, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2024;, zlae053.
Ian A. M. Fuller & Hans-Georg Evers (2011). Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish Supplement 1. Ian Fuller Enterprises.
ScotCat Article: The Genus Aspidoras.
Tencatt LFC, Britto MR, Isbrücker IJH, Pavanelli CS. Taxonomy of the armored catfish genus Aspidoras (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) revisited, with the description of a new species. Neotrop Ichthyol. 2022; 20(3):e220040.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.