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Hop to next section All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name Hoplosternum punctatum  Meek & Hildebrand, 1916
Common Names Spotted Hoplo
Spættet Pansermalle (Denmark)
Type Locality Río Marte Arnade, 6 mi. east of Panama City, Panama.
Pronunciation hop low STERN um
Etymology Hoplosternum: From the Greek hoplon, meaning shield and sternum, meaning breast; in reference to the prominent coracoid bones on the breast. 
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 77mm or 3" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification Hoplosternum punctatum and Dianema longibarbis are sometimes confused. Hoplosternum punctatum has smaller eyes. In adults the difference in bodyshape and armour is easier to spot; the pectoral shields in Hoplosternum punctatum do not touch in the center (females) or overlap (males), but in Dianema these are closely placed together.
The simplest way to tell them apart is to look at the length of the dorsal fin spine. In Hoplosternum it is about half the length of the first soft ray. In Dianema the dorsal fin spine is about the same length as the first soft ray.
Sexing In Dianema, Hoplosternum and Megalechis (but not in Callichthys), medial expansions of the coracoid bones are especially developed, covering most of the skin between the pectoral fins and sometimes overlapping in the midline in fully developed mature males (vs. not fully covering the abdominal skin and not overlapping in females). Mature males of Callichthys, Dianema, Hoplosternum, Lepthoplosternum, and Megalechis have a thick adipose body on the ventral surface of the pectoral fin. Mature females of Dianema, Hoplosternum and Megalechis have a small fold of skin on the external face of the leading pelvic-fin ray.
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution Central and South America: Pacific coastal drainages of Panama and in the Atrato River basin in Colombia.
Colombia Caribbean Rivers, Atrato (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Near Threatened, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2019.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Breeding Unreported.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Field Museum of Natural History, Publications, Zoölogical Series v. 10 (no. 15), pp 264, Pls. 14-15.
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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Last Update 2023 Aug 06 02:45 (species record created: 2003 Jun 21 00:00)