Acanthicus hystrix
From the Xingu River (Altamira, Pará, Brazil)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Siluriformes
Family:	Loricariidae
Genus:	Acanthicus
Species:	A. hystrix
Binomial name
Acanthicus hystrix Agassiz in Spix & Agassiz, 1829[2]
Synonyms[3]
Rinelepis acanthicus Valenciennes, 1840

Acanthicus hystrix, the lyre-tail pleco,^[4] is a species of armored catfish native to the Amazon, Tocantins–Araguaia and Orinoco basins.^[2] It is typically found at various depths on a rock or rock–gravel bottom in the main channel of rivers in places with moderate to strong current,^[2] although it also occurs in slow currents.^[4] The species is occasionally seen in the aquarium trade, but its adult size and territorially aggressive behavior means that a very large tank is required.^[4]

Appearance[edit]

It grows to 62.8 cm (2.06 ft) in standard length,^[2] but may possibly reach 100 cm (3.3 ft).^[4] Its color ranges from medium-brown to near-black (especially those from the Madeira, Branco and Xingu rivers are dark), and the underparts often have a vermiculated pattern.^[2] Some of the variants are commonly considered as separate, undescribed species in the aquarium trade (e.g., L193 from the Orinoco basin and L407 from the Branco basin; in the L-number system), but there is extensive overlap in the morphometrics of the different populations.^[2] Unlike the polka dot lyre-tail pleco (A. adonis), A. hystrix never has white spots.^[2] Adult males are especially spiny with extensive odontodes on the cheeks and opercle.^[2]

References[edit]