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Otocinclus caxarari Schaefer, 1997

Image contributors to this species:

Leandro Sousa (2)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Body moderately short, head depressed, gracile. Dorsal profile of head from snout tip to dorsal-fin origin straight to slightly convex. Dorsal profile of trunk from dorsal-fin origin to caudal peduncle straight to slightly concave. Ventral profile of head and abdomen from snout tip to pelvic-fin base straight, trans- versely flat. Ventral profile of trunk straight between pelvic-fin base and caudal peduncle. Snout slightly rounded, rostrum depressed; concave in region of and anterior to nares. Body between pectoral and pelvic-fin origins round in cross section; trunk ovoid in cross section anteriorly, progressing to distinctly rectangular posteriorly. Dorsal and ventral surface of trunk flattened posteriorly, dorsal and ventral lateral plate series bearing enlarged odontodes forming distinct keels along dorsal and ventral lateral trunk margins, keels becoming progressively more pronounced posteriorly (Schaefer, S.A.,1997). Habitat: Otocinclus caxarari is distributed in the Madeira, Purus, and Guaporé river basins, occurring in Brazil and Bolivia (Schaefer 2003, Barros et al. 2011, ICMBio 2018). Aquarium Care: This is a small group of Loricariids which do well in aquaria and will keep the algae down without harming the plants in the tank. Best to keep in a group with more males for breeding purposes. Reproduction: The females will lay eggs on the plants and tank glass after the females have been chased around the tank by the male. Like Corydoras they present a t-position breeding mode. Diet: Omnivore: algae, tablet foods, flake and small frozen foods. Etymology: The specific name caxarari: The Caxarar were an indigenous tribe of people who used to inhabit lowland regions of the Rio Guapore, southwest of Porto Velho, Brazil.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Loricariidae

Distribution:

South America: Upper Madeira River basin: Bolivia and Brazil. Type locality: Region between Guajara-Mirim and Mato Grosso, ca. 10º48'S, 65º23'W, Rio Solimoes/Madeira/Guaporé drainage, Brazil/Bolivia border.

Size:

2.5cm. (1ins)

Temp:

24-28°c (71-83°f.)

p.H.

6.0-7.5.

IUCN Red List

Despite the little information available on this species, it has a wide distribution and no apparent threats. Therefore, it is classified as of Least Concern (LC), (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. 2026. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org.
Salvador, G.N. 2023. Otocinclus caxarari. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023.
Schaefer, S.A.,1997 "The Neotropical cascudinhos: Systematics and biogeography of the Otocinclus catfishes (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)" (Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. 148, P. 71).
Schaefer, S.A., 2003. Loricariidae - Hypoptopomatinae (Armored catfishes). p. 321-329. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.

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

Otocinclus caxarari

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