Loricariidae Rafinesque 1815

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 26

Family Loricariidae Rafinesque 1815 ( Fig. 3D ). Suckermouth Armored Catfishes; Peces Diablo, Plecos, Peces Gato Acorazados

Description: Body generally elongate, robust, caudally depressed, covered by bony plates; usually less than 70 cm in length; mouth ventral, with papillose lips; pectoral, pelvic and dorsal fins usually with strong spines; adipose fin usually present, with a spine at the anterior border ( Angulo et al. 2021, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Freshwater; naturally from Costa Rica, Panama and South America, introduced elsewhere (Nelson et al. 2016). One genus and one species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 2; Bryconidae (A), Characidae (B), Gymnotidae (C), Loricariidae (D), Heptapteridae (E), Ariidae (F), Batrachoididae (G), Syngnathidae (H), Eleotridae (I), Gobiidae (J), Synbranchidae (K), Centropomidae (L), Polynemidae (M) and Paralichthyidae (N). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).