Hypoptopoma inexspectatum (Holmberg, 1893)
Hypoptopoma inexspectatum
photo by Noren, M.

Family:  Loricariidae (Armored catfishes), subfamily: Hypoptopomatinae
Max. size:  7.1 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Río Paraná and Río Paraguay drainage basin; no records for the upper Paraná upstream of Salto das Sete Quedas (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil).
Diagnosis:  Vertebrae: 25-25. This species is distinguished from its congeners by having the odontodes on the snout margin, the rostral plate, and first and second infraorbitals arranged in regular series; along the rostral margin, the dorsal and ventral series are separated by an odontode-free discontinuity approximately as wide as the base of individual odontodes; along the first and second infraorbitals, the discontinuity becomes narrower, but forms a dividing line between ventral and dorsal odontode series; odontode arrangement becomes more irregular posterolateral to the second infraorbital, and individual odontodes become roughly oriented with the trunk axis; in all other congeners, the ventral and dorsal odontodes on the rostrum are variably separated and/or covered by soft tissue, and odontodes are typically not clearly aligned in series (Ref. 84367).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 09 October 2020 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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