Aphanotorulus

Aphanotorulus is a genus of armored catfishes native to the Amazon, Orinoco, Essequibo and Jaguaribe basins in South America.^[2][1] They typically occur on a sand or gravel bottom in slow to moderately flowing rivers and streams,^[3] but some species occur in areas with fast current.^[4] The largest species in the genus reaches up to 51 cm (20 in) in standard length.^[3]

Aphanotorulus
Aphanotorulus sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Loricariidae
Tribe:	Hypostomini
Genus:	Aphanotorulus Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1983
Synonyms
Squaliforma Isbrücker & Michels, 2001[1]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of this genus has been a matter of dispute, all having been placed in Hypostomus in the past, and some occasionally placed in Squaliforma. Squaliforma is now regarded as a synonym of Aphanotorulus, but species west of the Andes have been moved to Isorineloricaria.^[1]

There are currently 7 recognized species of Aphanotorulus:^[1][4]

• Aphanotorulus ammophilus Armbruster & Page, 1996
• Aphanotorulus emarginatus (Valenciennes, 1840)
• Aphanotorulus gomesi (Fowler, 1941)
• Aphanotorulus horridus (Kner, 1854)
• Aphanotorulus phrixosoma (Fowler, 1940)
• Aphanotorulus rubrocauda Oliveira, Py-Daniel & Zawadzki, 2017
• Aphanotorulus unicolor (Steindachner, 1908)

Of these species, the validity of A. phrixosoma is questionable, as the only known specimen likely is a hybrid between A. horridus and A. unicolor.^[1]