AquaticRepublic.com - Aphanotorulus ammophilus (Loricariidae) All Fishes

Close-up of head
Close-up of head
Habitat: Shallow, flowing water over small rocks
Juveniles
Dorsal view
Close-up of dorsal fin

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Aphanotorulus ammophilus** Armbruster & Page, 1996
Common Names	L094, Cute Pleco L123, Sød Sugemalle (Denmark), Venezuela-Aphanotorulus (Germany)
Type Locality	Río San Carlos, River Portuguesa drainage at Caño Hondo, 9°31'51''N, 68°39'39''W, Cojedes State, Venezuela.
Synonym(s)	Hypostomus ammophilus
Pronunciation	ah FAN oh to RULE uss - ah moe fee luss
Etymology	Greek, aphanes = hidden + Latin, torulus, -i = muscle, little string. Ammo from the Latin for sand and philus Latin for loving.
Species Information
Size	161mm or 6.3" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	In Aphanotorulus, all species show clear sexual dimorphism and have a generally flatter appearance than other hypostomine genera. The posterior edge of the oral disc is jagged rather than smooth. Aphanotoroulus can be distinguished from Isorineloricaria by having caudal peduncles that do not become greatly lengthened with size and that are oval in cross section (vs. caudal peduncle proportions that get proportionately longer with size and that become round in cross-section), and by having small dark spots (less than half plate diameter) on a light tan background (vs. spots almost as large as lateral plates on a nearly white background. L094=L123, DATZ erroneously initially published a Hypostomus (then Cochliodon) as L094. All Aphanotorulus show clear sexual dimorphism and have a generally flatter appearance than other similar genera.
Sexing	Males in breeding condition posses extremely elongate, bristle-like odontodes. These cover the entire back and sides behind the dorsal fin.
General Remarks	L123 was introduced in DATZ 5/1993 pp280-281.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Portuguesa River basin. Orinoco, Middle Orinoco, Apure, Portuguesa (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
Other Parameters	This species is most commonly found over sand substrates in the wild.
Husbandry Information
Breeding	Unreported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Copeia 1996 (no. 2), pp 385, Figs. 2, 3c, 4.
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 5 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode

	Look up A. ammophilus on PlanetCatfish.com
	Look up A. ammophilus on Fishbase
	Look up A. ammophilus on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up A. ammophilus on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.4.142.403
Last Update	2025 Jan 01 12:11 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00)