Hypostomus plecostomus: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Hypostomus plecostomus lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Hypostomus plecostomus
Group	Bony fish
Found in	4 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Siluriformes
Family	Loricariidae

Where does the Hypostomus plecostomus live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Hypostomus plecostomus in 4 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Novo Progresso.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Hypostomus plecostomus?

The Hypostomus plecostomus (Hypostomus plecostomus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Siluriformes and the family Loricariidae, genus Hypostomus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Hypostomus plecostomus

Hypostomus plecostomus, also known as the suckermouth catfish or spotted pleco, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the armored catfish family (Loricariidae), named for the longitudinal rows of armor-like scutes that cover the upper parts of the head and body (the lower surface of head and abdomen is naked soft skin). They grow up to 50 cm (19.7 in) standard length, and live for 7–8 years in the wild, or 10–15 in captivity. Although the name Hypostomus plecostomus is often used to refer to common plecostomus sold in aquarium shops, most are actually members of other genera than Hypostomus.

Suckermouth catfish are of little or no value as a food fish, although they are at least occasionally consumed over their native range. A demand exists for them, however, as a bottom cleaner in the aquarium trade.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Hypostomus plecostomus (revision 1379894901), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1768403 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).