Description:
Possesses the characters of the rocky group and can
be diagnosed within the species of the rocky group
by the following characters: asymmetrical tooth cusps
(vs. almost symmetrical cusps in Rineloricaria
aequalicuspis); spotted colour pattern in all
fins (vs. a unique colour pattern composed of one
dark, wide band covering most of the distal one-half
of all fins in Rineloricaria
baliola); narrower
head, head width 74.7-83.5 (vs. 83.7-93.6% of head
length in Rineloricaria jaraguensis); 5-11
teeth in both dentary and premaxilla (vs. 12-16 teeth
in each jaw in Rineloricaria
latirostris); plated
abdomen (vs. naked or almost naked in Rineloricaria
malabarbai and Rineloricaria maquinensis);
and short dorsal unbranched principal caudal-fin ray
(vs. dorsal unbranched principal caudal-fin ray produced
in a filament in Rineloricaria pentamaculata).
Habitat: Occurs in watercourses with
slow to fast flow, clear to brown water with rocky,
sandy, or muddy bottom. Encountered in polluted waters.
Reproduction: The Rineloricaria
species are usually cave spawners, where the female
will place their eggs after the male has cleaned inside.
The male will then guard and fan the eggs until hatching.
The eggs will hatch in 4-5 days whereas the male can
now be removed. More breeding information can be found
here in the articles breeding
section.Aquarium Care: As with all Rineloricaria
provide long leaved plants or bamboo stalks for them
to hang on to. Diet: Omnivore. Vegetable
food such as cucumber and other various foods such
as tablet, flake and frozen. Etymology:
The specific name: microlepidogaster: meaning
small scales on the belly.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
Loricaria microlepidogaster
Family:
Loricariidae
Distribution:
South America:
Laguna dos Patos basin, Brazil. Type locality:
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Size:
19.0cm. (7½ins)
Temp:
22-26°c (71-79°f)
p.H.
6.0-7.5.
Reference:
Ferraris, C.J. Jr.,
2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes:
Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary
types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors.
2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication.
www.fishbase.org, version. Loureiro M, González-Bergonzoni I,
Teixeira de Mello F. 2023. Freshwater Fishes
of Uruguay. Second edition. Vertebrate Zoology Laboratory,
Faculty of Sciences, University of the Republic.
Rodriguez, M.S. and R.E. Reis, 2008.
Taxonomic review of Rineloricaria (Loricariidae: Loricariinae)
from the Laguna dos Patos drainage, Southern Brazil,
with the descriptions of two new species and the recognition
of two species groups. Copeia 2008(2):333-349.
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