Spatuloricaria Schultz, 1944

Raphael Covain & Sonia Fisch-Muller, 2007, The genera of the Neotropical armored catfish subfamily Loricariinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae): a practical key and synopsis., Zootaxa 1462, pp. 1-40 : 36

Spatuloricaria Schultz, 1944 .

Type species: Spatuloricaria phelpsi Schultz, 1944 .

Holotype: USNM 121121 , Venezuela, Rio Socuy .

Gender: feminine.

This genus is distributed in the northwestern part of the subcontinent, in drainages of the Pacific and Atlantic Slopes of the Andes. Several species occur also in the upper Amazon River basin, upper Paraguay, and São Francisco River basins. Ecological data are unavailable and reproductive biology is unknown. Sexual dimorphism includes hypertrophied development of claw-like odontodes along the sides of the head and on the pectoral spines in mature males. Spatuloricaria is in need of revision, as species boundaries and distributions are poorly known. The phylogenetic position of Spatuloricaria remains uncertain. Rapp Py-Daniel (1997) placed Spatuloricaria at the base of a clade including representatives of the Loricaria and Pseudohemiodon groups. Its dentition, with few teeth on the premaxillae, and its abdominal cover consisting of minute disjointed platelets resembles that of some representatives of the Loricaria group. Conversely, the papillose surface of the lips and sexually dimorphic features are more characteristic of the Rineloricaria group. Eleven valid species are currently recognized (Ferraris 2003).