Hypostomus yaku Martins, Langeani & Zawadzki, 2014

Family:  Loricariidae (Armored catfishes), subfamily: Hypostominae
Max. size:  7.08 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Rio Quente, rio Paranaíba drainage, in the upper rio Paraná basin in central Brazil.
Diagnosis:  Anal soft rays: 5-5; Vertebrae: 27-28. Hypostomus yaku can be diagnosed from all congeners by having the five lateral series of plates with hypertrophied odontodes, not aligned in longitudinal rows, more conspicuous on flanks of caudal peduncle of the larger specimens (vs. lateral series of plates without hypertrophied odontodes or with aligned hypertrophied odontodes only along the longitudinal keels) (Ref. 97842).
Biology:  The type locality, Rio Quente, has a width of about 3 m and depth of 1.0-1.5 m, moderate flow and bottom with sand, pebbles and rocks. Associated mainly with rocks. Seems to be restricted to warm waters. Collected together with Characidium xanthopterum, Characidium aff. zebra, Knodus moenkhausii, an undescribed species of a putatively new genus of the Characidae, and the exotic Xiphophorus helleri and Oreochromis niloticus (Ref. 97842).
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR); Date assessed: 03 December 2020 (B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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