Crossoloricaria Isbruecker , 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 : 27

Crossoloricaria Isbruecker, 1979 .

Type species: Loricaria variegata Steindachner, 1879 .

Holotype: NMW 45138 , Panama, Rio Mamoni drainage at Chepo .

Gender: feminine.

The species of this genus are distributed in the northwestern part of the South-American continent along the Pacific slope (in Panama and Columbia), Lake Maracaibo region (Venezuela), and the upper Amazon system (Peru). Like other representatives of the Pseudohemiodon group, Crossoloricaria species occur over sandy substrates of larger rivers and their tributaries. Sexual dimorphism is unknown but males are abdomino-lip brooders. Crossoloricaria is poorly diagnosed and is in need of revision. Its only diagnostic character (incomplete abdominal cover consisting of a double median row of plates) is shared by two other representatives of the Pseudohemiodon group, Apistoloricaria and Rhadinoloricaria . Rapp Py-Daniel (1997) suggested the synonymy of Apistoloricaria and Crossololoricaria with Rhadinoloricaria , but the structure of the lips and the length of the maxillary barbels tend to place Crossoloricaria closer to Pseudohemiodon . Moreover, Crossoloricaria rhami , described by Isbrücker & Nijssen (1983), like Pseudohemiodon possesses complete abdominal plate development, thus rendering the diagnostic feature of Crossoloricaria invalid. Five valid species are currently recognized in this genus (Ferraris 2003).