Sturisomatichthys Isbruecker & Nijssen, 1979

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 : 37

Sturisomatichthys Isbruecker & Nijssen, 1979 .

Type species: Oxyloricaria leightoni Regan, 1912 .

Lectotype: BMNH 1909.7.23.45 , Colombia, Honda .

Gender: masculine.

The genus Sturisomatichthys is distributed in the northwestern part of South America, on the Pacific and Atlantic slopes of the Andes. The species appear to occupy the same ecological niche as those in Sturisoma . Sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology of Sturisomatichthys are also similar to Sturisoma . Sturisomatichthys is distinguished from Sturisoma primarily by the absence of a rostrum. Only one species, Sturisomatichthys citurensis, from Panama, seems to be significantly different from all congeneric species in having an abdominal plate cover consisting of small platelets without any particular organization. Other species may represent a species complex with a short snout as in the genus Farlowella with reference to the representatives of the F. curtirostra group. The weakness of this diagnostic feature could lead to the synonymy of Sturisomatichthys with Sturisoma .