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Hypostomus plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Suckermouth catfish
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Hypostomus plecostomus
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Philippines country information

Common names: Janitor fish, Plecostomus, Sucking catfish
Occurrence: introduced
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: fairly common (chances are about 50%) | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Introduction confirmed by Aida Palma, BFAR and Lou Castillo, UPLB (pers. comm.). Recorded from Candaba Swamp and Pampanga River (Ref. 109918). Collected from Laguna de Bay (Ref. 56084, 80824) and from FAC, Munoz Nueva Ecija as specimen for living fish museum.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: ASAP, Aquarium Science Association of the Philippines, 1996
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) > Hypostominae
Etymology: Hypostomus: Greek, hypo = under + Greek, stoma = mouth (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecologia

; acqua dolce; salmastro demersale; pH range: 6.2 - 8.2; dH range: ? - 28.   Tropical; 20°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 12°N - 25°S, 60°W - 51°W

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Point map | Introduzioni | Faunafri

South America: Guianas (coastal region from the Oyapock River basin to the Essequibo River basin). Identity of reported introduced species to several Asian countries for the aquarium trade need further confirmation.

Size / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm SL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 90186); common length : 28.0 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 12193)

Short description Morfologia | Morfometria

This species is distinguished by the following characters: differs from species of the H. cochliodon group (H. macushi and H. taphorni in the Guianas) by having viliform teeth (vs. large spoon-shaped teeth); differs from other Guianese species of Hypostomus by having teeth bearing a short roughly rounded crown, with lateral cusp about half the length of the main cusp (vs. an elongated crown, with a small lateral cusp in coppenamensis, corantijni, crassicauda, gymnorhynchus,nematopterus, watwata), or sometimes with an enlarged lateral cusp (observed in H. gymnorhynchus from upper Maroni River Basin only, H. micromaculatus and H. paucimaculatus); differs from long-crown toothed species except H. watwata by the presence of a preanal plate (vs. absence); differs from H. watwata in having an azygous plate which is sometimes divided into two to three secondary platelets, bordering the posterior part of the supraoccipital and directly contacting the pterotic-supracleithrum, laterally bordered by two plates that contact only the pterotic-supracleithrum (vs. an azygous plate, often divided anteriorly in small secondary platelets, not connecting the pterotic-supracleithrum, and with two lateral areas divided in multiple platelets, 4-13, bordering the postero-lateral part of the supraoccipital and the posterior part of the pterotic-supracleithrum (Ref. 90186).

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); This species inhabits the lower part of rivers still under tide influence, and characterized by a quiet flowing water and muddy substrate, and swamps (Ref. 90186). Feeds on algae and small crustaceans. Is cultured in ponds in Singapore and Hong Kong for the aquarium trade, where it is very popular (Ref. 2060).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

Deposits eggs on smooth rocks. Eggs are guarded by one or both parents. May deposit eggs in depressions (Ref. 2060).

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore : Fisch-Muller, Sonia | Collaboratori

Weber, C., R. Covain and S. Fisch-Muller, 2012. Identity of Hypostomus plecostomus (Linnaeus, 1758), with an overview of Hypostomus species from the Guianas (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Cybium 36(1):195-227. (Ref. 90186)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 February 2021

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Pesca: pesca di sussistenza; Acquario: elevato interesse commerciale
FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

Informazioni ulteriori

Nomi Comuni
Sinonimi
Metabolismo
Predatori
Ecotossicologia
Riproduzione
Maturità
Deposizione
Fecundity
Uova
Egg development
Age/Size
Accrescimento
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morfometria
Morfologia
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
Bibliografia
Acquacoltura
Profilo di acquacoltura
Varietà
Genetica
Electrophoreses
Ereditarietà
Malattie
Elaborazione
Mass conversion
Collaboratori
Immagini
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Suoni
Ciguatera
Velocità
Modalità di nuoto
Area branchiale
Otoliths
Cervelli
Vista

Strumenti

Special reports

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01995 (0.01614 - 0.02467), b=2.96 (2.92 - 3.00), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.5   ±0.26 se; based on food items.
Resilienza (Ref. 120179):  Medio, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 1.4 - 4.4 anni (Assuming tmax>3; Fec = 3,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (20 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.