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Catfish

Armored catfish, Pleco

Hypostomus watwata Hancock, 1828

LC Least Concern

Names

EnglishArmored catfish, Pleco
DutchZeekwiekwie
SpanishCucha
Chinese沃瓦达下口鲶
Sranan Tongokatfisi (general name for the group)
Scientific nameHypostomus watwata Hancock, 1828

About this species

Hypostomus watwata, commonly known as the armored catfish, is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the coastal drainages of Guyana and French Guiana, ranging from the Oyapock to the Demerara River. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.

H. watwata is typically seen in the brackish lower reaches of rivers, in muddy areas with mangrove trees such as Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia germinans, and Rhizophora mangle. It reaches 45 cm (18 in) in standard length and is believed to be a facultative air breather. The species is known to spawn by laying eggs in excavated burrows in the mud.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
OrderSiluriformes
FamilyLoricariidae
GenusHypostomus

In Suriname

33Records in Suriname
1iNaturalist observations
1824First record
2018Latest record

Where it has been recorded

  • Commewijne1
  • Marowijne1
  • Paramaribo1

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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