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Hudson Crizanto Gonçalves (1) Rupert Collins (1)

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 4. Distinguished from all other Hypostomus except the species of the H. cochliodon group based on the presence of large, spoon-shaped teeth; and from all members of the H. cochliodon group except H. cochliodon, H. ericae, H. ericius and H. paucipunctatus by the presence of very widely spaced black spots on a light background. Can be separated from H. cochliodon by absence of a longitudinal ridge on the pterotic-supracleithrum and absence of longitudinal dark stripes; from H. ericius by lacking keels formed from sharp odontodes on the lateral plates; from H. ericae and H. paucipunctatus by lacking a buccal papilla; from H. ericae by having spots in the distal dorsal and caudal fins not combining (vs. spots combining to form wavy lines); and from H. paucipunctatus by having medium to large spots. It is further distinguished by having seven to eight adipose-caudal plates and by generally having no odontodes on the opercle (zero to 10), vs. having a patch of greater than 10 odontodes on the opercle. Habitat: Occurs among submerged, dead wood in modest to swift flowing water. Inhabiting largest part of freshwaters, from headwaters to upstream of the lower falls, with rocky substrate consisting of boulders, stones, gravels, and sand; the exposed wet rocks are also often covered by the Podostemaceae Mourera fluviatilis and Apinagia richardiana. Aquarium Care: As with most of this genus, will do well in a larger aquarium, although this is one of the smaller species in the genera, and the aquarium well filtered. Water parameters can be quite diverse for this genera. Diet: Omnivore with a liking for green, tablet and frozen foods. Etymology: The specific name macushi: Named for the Macushi people of the northern Rupununi, who provided the authors with a lot of help and hospitality on their journeys in southern Guyana, and who collected most of the best specimens in the type series. Remarks: Despite the little information available on this species, it has a wide range and no apparent threats. Therefore, it is assessed as Least Concern (IUCN 2023).

L303, Red pepper pleco

None

Loricariidae

South America: Rupununi River, Essequibo River and Takutu and Ireng rivers, Negro River basin (Guyana-Brazil border). Type Locality: Guyana, Rupunini (Region 9). Ireng River, 6.9 km WW Karasabai, Takutu River – Negro River drainage, 04.01957º, – 059.60170º.

17.0cm. (6¾ins)

22-25°c (71-77°f.)

6.5-7.2.

Armbruster, J.W. and L.S. de Souza, 2005. Hypostomus macushi, a new species of the Hypostomus cochliodon group (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from Guyana. Zootaxa 920:1-12.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (11/2024).
Salvador, G.N. 2023. Hypostomus macushi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Weber, C., R. Covain and S. Fisch-Muller, 2012. Identity of Hypostomus plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758), with an overview of Hypostomus species from the Guianas (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Cybium 36(1):195-227.