Pyxiloricaria Isbruecker & Nijssen, 1984

Raphael Covain & Sonia Fisch-Muller, 2007, The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis., Zootaxa 1462, pp. 1-40 : 34

Pyxiloricaria Isbruecker & Nijssen, 1984 .

Type species: Pyxiloricaria menezesi Isbruecker & Nijssen, 1984 .

Holotype: MZUSP 26800 , Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, Miranda .

Gender: feminine.

This monotypic genus is only known from the Paraguay River drainage. Pyxiloricaria menezesi inhabits sandy substrates and is sympatric with representatives of the genus Pseudohemiodon . Sexual dimorphism and reproductive ecology are unknown. In the Pseudohemiodon group, Pyxiloricaria more closely resembles Pseudohemiodon than other representatives of the group. Moreover, with Loricaria , it shares filamentous lips, inconspicuous fringed barbels on the lower lip, and shorter maxillary barbels. The phylogenetic position of Pyxiloricaria remains uncertain, and its presence in the Pseudohemiodon group could be artificial, given the characters shared with Loricaria . Herein, following Isbrücker & Nijssen (1984), it is maintained in the Pseudohemiodon group.