The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis

Abstract

The subfamily Loricariinae belongs to the Neotropical mailed catfish family Loricariidae. Members of Loricariinae are recognized by their long and flattened caudal peduncle and absence of an adipose fin. Despite important studies conducted on this group, no comprehensive generic key is presently available. A Hill & Smith (1976) analysis and cluster analysis were performed on external morphological characters taken from specimens or borrowed from the literature. The two main groups recognized correspond to the tribes Harttiini and Loricariini. Within the Loricariini, four morphological groups were found: the Rineloricaria group, the Loricariichthys group, the Loricaria group, and the Pseudohemiodon group. Results of these analyses were used to construct a practical key to thirty genera, followed by a synopsis for each genus.