Leporacanthicus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

es (order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Siluriformes) of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Loricariidae

Loricariidae

Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish , with almost 700 species and new species being described each year. Loricariids originate from fresh water habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and...

. It includes four species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, L. galaxias, L. heterodon, L. joselimai, and L. triactis.

Distribution

The genus has been reported from the upper Orinoco

Orinoco

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...

, the eastern, north-flowing Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

 tributaries, and the Tocantins River

Tocantins River

The Tocantins is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" . It runs from south to north for about 2,640 km. It is not really a branch of the Amazon River, although usually so considered, since its waters flow into the...

. L. galaxias originates from the southern tributaries of the middle and lower Amazon, including Madeira

Madeira River

The Madeira River is a major waterway in South America, approximately 3,250 km miles long The Madeira is the biggest tributary of the Amazon...

, Tocantins and Guamá River

Guamá River

-References:*...

s, as well as in the Ventuari River

Ventuari River

The Ventuari River is a river in the Orinoco basin in Venezuela. The Ventuari flows from eastern Venezuela in the Guiana Highlands southwest into the Orinoco River. It is 520 km long and its major tributary is the Manapiare River.-References:...

 basin of the upper Orinoco drainage. L. heterodon inhabits the Xingu River

Xingu River

The Xingu River , also called Rio Xingu, is a 1,230-mile long, river in north Brazil; it is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River.-Description and history:...

 basin in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. L. joselimai is known from the Tapajós River basin in Brazil. L. triactis is distributed in the upper Orinoco River basin.

Description

Leporacanthicus species have large teeth in the upper jaw; usually there are only two teeth on each premaxilla

Premaxilla

The incisive bone is the portion of the maxilla adjacent to the incisors. It is a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the jaws of many animals, usually bearing teeth, but not always. They are connected to the maxilla and the nasals....

, the inner teeth very long. Species of Leporacanthicus are medium-sized loricariids with a narrow, pointed head, round lower lip, and fleshy tentacles on the upper lip. The colour pattern is generally dark gray to black with white to golden spots or a light gray with medium-sized black spots. The abdomen is naked (scaleless and unplated). The caudal fin is straight and angled posteroventrally. L. galaxias are basic black with many white spots. L. triactis are brown, gray, or charcoal black, save for vivid orange or yellow blotches on the spines of the non-paired fins.

L. joselimai grows to about 9.8 centimetre

Centimetre

A centimetre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one hundredth of a metre, which is the SI base unit of length. Centi is the SI prefix for a factor of . Hence a centimetre can be written as or — meaning or respectively...

s (3.9 in

Inch

An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...

) SL

Fish measurement

Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...

 and L. heterodon to about 10.3 cm (4.1 in) SL, while L. galaxias grows to about 21.1 cm (8.3 in) SL and L. triactis to about 24.7 cm (9.7 in) SL.

Ecology

L. triactis has been found in deep holes in mud banks. L. galaxias originates from fast flowing rapids.

It has been hypothesized that the enlarged teeth of the upper jaw are used to remove snail

Snail

Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...

s from their shells. This has been observed in L. joselimai, but specimens from Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 seem to have a lot of caddis flies

Trichoptera

The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings...

 as well as freshwater sponges in the gut.

L. triactis is a cave spawner.

In the aquarium

Leporacanthicus are called vampire plecostomus in the aquarium literature in reference to their large teeth that are characteristic of the genus. These species should be fed invertebrate matter such as mollusks or crustaceans; however, they will accept other foods as well. These fish are territorial species. L. galaxias originates from oxygen-rich environments and should be provided with such a habitat in the aquarium. This fish is not often seen during the day. Breeding has been accomplished for L. galaxias but not documented.