Description:
Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal soft rays: 6. With
17-20 premaxillary and 14-16 dentary teeth on each
jaw element; presence of 2 or more series of ventrally
downturned odontodes on anteroventral rostral margin;
head and snout deeply sculptured; 3 large and conspicuous
odontode crests on supraoccipital: median crest with
3-4 series, lateral crests with 2 series of large
odontodes; fourth infraorbital very large and broadly
convex, presence of pair of preanal platelets preceded
by 2 or more platelets. Habitat:
This species is known from the rivers of the Atlantic
coast of southern Santa Catarina and northern Rio
Grande do Sul states, Brazil. It can be found inland
only up to the mountains just along from the coastal
plains, thereby restricting its range.Aquarium
Care: Treat as with all members of the Hypoptopomatinae
such as the Otocinclus/Parotocinclus genera
with a planted aquarium and an overall cooler temperature.
Diet: Omnivore: algae, tablet foods,
flake and small frozen foods. Etymology:
The genus name of Otothyris: otos, ear; thyris,
lattice, referring to perforate temporals, pierced
by 3-4 large openings, sometimes confluent into one.
The specific name of rostrata: beaked, referring
to the prominent and deeply sculptured snout. Remarks:
This species was likely to be in decline at some point
over the last century when much of the area was altered
due to human activity. The population which is relatively
stable now can only be found in a restricted area
but because of the lack of major threat a Least Concern
assessment has been made (IUCN 2009, needs updating).
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Loricariidae
Distribution:
South America:
Atlantic coast of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do
Sul states (Brazil) and Uruguay. Type Locality:
Osório, Canal between lagoons Emboaba and Emboabinha,
on the highway between Osório and Tramandai,
Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.
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