Loricariidae, Rafinesque, 1815

Júnior, Horácio Ferreira Júlio, Tós, Claudenice Dei, Agostinho, Ângelo Antonio & Pavanelli, Carla Simone, 2009, A massive invasion of fish species after eliminating a natural barrier in the upper rio Paraná basin, Neotropical Ichthyology 7 (4), pp. 709-718 : 713

Loricariidae

The family Loricariidae (armored catfish) is the largest family of catfishes in the world. Its numerous species are scattered in seven currently recognized subfamilies; however, in the present work, representative species of two subfamilies are presented.

Hypostomus cochliodon , H. commersoni and H. ternetzi were widespread in the Paraguay and Uruguay rivers and in the rio Paraná downstream from Sete Quedas, according to Carvalho & Bockmann (2007). These species have been found in the upper Paraná since Itaipu’s closure and the barrier disappearance ( Graça & Pavanelli, 2007). Langeani et al. (2007) listed these species as being of unknown origin in the upper rio Paraná basin. Hypostomus microstomus is another loricarid that was previously restricted to waters below Sete Quedas ( Weber, 2003) but is now caught in the upper rio Paraná. This finding has been corroborated by Graça & Pavanelli (2007), but not by Langeani et al. (2007), who listed the species as native to the upper Paraná. Most are commercially important ( Delariva & Agostinho, 2001).

Loricariichthys species are also widespread in South America, but they have never been recorded in the upper rio Paraná, nor in the rio São Francisco basin ( Reis & Pereira, 2000). These authors described Loricariichthys rostratus from the Itaipu Reservoir region and stated that this species was absent in the upper rio Paraná before Itaipu impoundment. They also provided similar comments for L. platymetopon , earlier described from the Paraguay River. Both species are currently common in the upper rio Paraná, in particular the former, which is abundant in the upper rio Paraná floodplain.