Ancistrus bufonius is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the familyLoricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamilyHypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes. This catfish is found in South America in Bolivia and Peru.
Ancistrus bufonius is classified in the genus Ancistrus, a name coined by Rudolf Kner when he proposed the genus but Kner did not explain the etymology of the name. It is thought to be from the Greek ágkistron, meaning a "fish hook" or the "hook of a spindle", a reference to the hooked odontodes on the interopercular bone. The specific name, bufonius, means "toad-like" a reference to the toad-like body shape of this catfish.
Description
Ancistrus bufonius reaches a standard length of 11.5cm (4.5in). Ancistrus species develop soft, bushy tentacles on the snout when sexually mature, these are better developed in the males than they are in females.
Distribution and habit
Ancistrus brevifilis is found in South America where it occurs in the Ucayali River in Peru and the Beni, Mamoré and Grande River basins in Bolivia. This catfish is found in clear water rivers.
↑Armbruster, J. W. and N. K. Lujan (2025). "New tribe-level classification of Hypostominae (Loricariidae) based on optimization of morphological states on DNA-based relationships, with descriptions of three new tribes and two new genera". Neotropical Ichthyology. 22 (4)): 1–32. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2024-0108.
