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Hypostomus watwata Hancock, 1828

Image contributors to this species:

Mark Ram (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Habitat: Coastal species which also occur in brackish waters of the lower reaches of rivers. Can be caught along the banks with muddy bottom occupied by plants like Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle. Benthic. Aquarium Care: As with most of this genus, will do well in a larger aquarium, 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. Reproduction: As part of its reproductive behavior, excavates and creates burrows for egg laying. Etymology: The specific name watwata: Creole name (also spelled watawata) for this species in Guyana. Remarks: This species could very well be a population of H. plecostomus.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Plecostumus watwata, Hypostomus verres

Family:

Loricariidae

Distribution:

South America: Guianan river drainages from Oyapock River to Demerara River: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela; introduced elsewhere. Type Locality: Demerara on the sea-shores (now: Berbice River), Guyana.

Size:

45.0cm. (18ins)

Temp:

22-26°c (71-77°f.)

p.H.

6.5-8.0.

IUCN Red List

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).

Reference:

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. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 01/2019 ).
Galvis, G., J.I. Mojica and M. Camargo, 1997. Peces del Catatumbo. Asociación Cravo Norte, Santafé de Bogotá, D.C., 188 p.
Salvador, G.N. 2023. Hypostomus watwata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Family: Loricariidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Hypostomus watwata

Hypostomus watwata
Mouth view

Hypostomus watwata

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