Hypostomus plecostomus, Suckermouth catfish : fisheries, aquarium

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Hypostomus plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Suckermouth catfish
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Hypostomus plecostomus
Picture by Galvis, G./Mojica, J.I./Camargo, M.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) > Hypostominae
Etymology: Hypostomus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 6.2 - 8.2; dH range: ? - 28. Tropical; 20°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 12°N - 25°S, 60°W - 51°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

South America: Guianas (coastal region from the Oyapock River basin to the Essequibo River basin). Identity of reported introduced species to several Asian countries for the aquarium trade need further confirmation.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 90186); common length : 28.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

This species is distinguished by the following characters: differs from species of the H. cochliodon group (H. macushi and H. taphorni in the Guianas) by having viliform teeth (vs. large spoon-shaped teeth); differs from other Guianese species of Hypostomus by having teeth bearing a short roughly rounded crown, with lateral cusp about half the length of the main cusp (vs. an elongated crown, with a small lateral cusp in coppenamensis, corantijni, crassicauda, gymnorhynchus,nematopterus, watwata), or sometimes with an enlarged lateral cusp (observed in H. gymnorhynchus from upper Maroni River Basin only, H. micromaculatus and H. paucimaculatus); differs from long-crown toothed species except H. watwata by the presence of a preanal plate (vs. absence); differs from H. watwata in having an azygous plate which is sometimes divided into two to three secondary platelets, bordering the posterior part of the supraoccipital and directly contacting the pterotic-supracleithrum, laterally bordered by two plates that contact only the pterotic-supracleithrum (vs. an azygous plate, often divided anteriorly in small secondary platelets, not connecting the pterotic-supracleithrum, and with two lateral areas divided in multiple platelets, 4-13, bordering the postero-lateral part of the supraoccipital and the posterior part of the pterotic-supracleithrum (Ref. 90186).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); This species inhabits the lower part of rivers still under tide influence, and characterized by a quiet flowing water and muddy substrate, and swamps (Ref. 90186). Feeds on algae and small crustaceans. Is cultured in ponds in Singapore and Hong Kong for the aquarium trade, where it is very popular (Ref. 2060).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Deposits eggs on smooth rocks. Eggs are guarded by one or both parents. May deposit eggs in depressions (Ref. 2060).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Fisch-Muller, Sonia | Collaborators

Weber, C., R. Covain and S. Fisch-Muller, 2012. Identity of Hypostomus plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758), with an overview of Hypostomus species from the Guianas (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Cybium 36(1):195-227. (Ref. 90186)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 February 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: highly commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Common names
Synonyms
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Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
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Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
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Length-weight
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Morphometrics
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.01614 - 0.02467), b=2.96 (2.92 - 3.00), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.5   ±0.26 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tmax>3; Fec = 3,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (20 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.