Rhinelepis is a genus of South American armored catfish.
| Rhinelepis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rhinelepis aspera | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Loricariidae |
| Tribe: | Rhinelepini |
| Genus: | Rhinelepis Agassiz, 1829 |
| Type species | |
| Rhinelepis aspera Spix & Agassiz, 1829
| |
Species edit
There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[1]
- Rhinelepis aspera Spix & Agassiz, 1829
- Rhinelepis strigosa Valenciennes, 1840
Appearance and anatomy edit
Rhinelepis species are large and heavily plated, though the plates on the abdomen (belly) develop later than in Pseudorinelepis. They are generally charcoal gray without any markings. The head is long and fat. The fins are short and the adipose fin is entirely absent. The gill opening is much larger than that of most loricariids. The cheeks lack elongate odontodes.[2]
References edit
- ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). Species of Rhinelepis in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ Armbruster, Jonathan W. (1998). "Phylogenetic Relationships of the Suckermouth Armored Catfishes of the Rhinelepis Group (Loricariidae: Hypostominae)". Copeia. 1998 (3): 620–636. doi:10.2307/1447792. JSTOR 1447792.
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