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Haraldo Bishop (5) Gert Blank (5)

Description: This genus is recognised by the flat head and large eyes that are set latterly on the head and their heavy body armour. The ventral region is also armored and you can sometimes identify a species by the pattern on the underbelly. In saying that the species in this genus are notoriously difficult to identify and most of the time you would need the location of the catchment area or even down to the river itself to pinpoint a certain species. Vertebrae: 25. This species is distinguished from its congeners by having the odontodes on the snout margin, the rostral plate, and first and second infraorbitals arranged in regular series; along the rostral margin, the dorsal and ventral series are separated by an odontode-free discontinuity approximately as wide as the base of individual odontodes; along the first and second infraorbitals, the discontinuity becomes narrower, but forms a dividing line between ventral and dorsal odontode series; odontode arrangement becomes more irregular posterolateral to the second infraorbital, and individual odontodes become roughly oriented with the trunk axis; in all other congeners, the ventral and dorsal odontodes on the rostrum are variably separated and/or covered by soft tissue, and odontodes are typically not clearly aligned in series. Aquarium Care: Will not bother other fish in the aquarium. They like to hang on to thin stalks of plants so they can see around it with their laterally located eyes. Provide shaded hiding areas in the tank with rocks or cave-like structures. Diet: Feed an all round diet but prefers a vegetable diet such as algae, spirulina tablets and cucumber/courgette. Etymology: The specific name inexspectatum: Latin for unexpected, allusion not explained; described from one specimen, perhaps Holmberg (who did not seem to be aware of the genus Hypoptopoma) was struck by the unexpected occurrence and/or appearance of a loricariid catfish with ventrolaterally displaced eyes. Remarks: The first five thumbnail specimens were captured by the image contributor (2003) in the Paraná  River, Argentina, Misiones province, in its capital, Posadas City and also 25 miles from Parana City near to the town of Valle María (2004).

None

Aristommata inexpectata, Hypoptopoma guentheri

Loricariidae

South America: Argentina, Paraná/Paraguay River basin. Type Locality: Río Paraguay, Formosa Prov., Argentina.

10.0cm. (4ins)

18-26°c (63-79°f.)

6.0-7.0.

Aquino, A.E. and S.A. Schaefer 2010 Systematics of the genus Hypoptopoma Günther, 1868 (Siluriformes, Loricariidae). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 336:1-110.
Evers, H.-G. & I.Seidel: Mergus, Baensch Catfish Atlas Volume 1, 1st English edn., 2005. Pp.944.
Salvador, G.N. 2023. Hypoptopoma inexspectatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023.
ScotCat Article: Collecting in the Paraná River Basin, Argentina, (Part 2).
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.