View source for Biology:Loricarioidea

{{Short description|Superfamily of fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Pterygoplichthys sp.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Biology:Pterygoplichthys|Pterygoplichthys]]'' sp.
| taxon = Loricarioidea
| authority = [[Biography:Constantine Samuel Rafinesque|Rafinesque]], 1815
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = 
([[Biology:Amphiliidae|Amphiliidae]])<br>
[[Biology:Astroblepidae|Astroblepidae]]<br>
[[Biology:Callichthyidae|Callichthyidae]]<br>
[[Biology:Loricariidae|Loricariidae]]<br>
[[Biology:Nematogenyiidae|Nematogenyiidae]]<br>
[[Biology:Scoloplacidae|Scoloplacidae]]<br>
[[Biology:Trichomycteridae|Trichomycteridae]]
}}

'''Loricarioidea''' is a [[Scientific classification|superfamily]] of [[Biology:Catfish|catfish]]es ([[Biology:Order|order]] Siluriformes). It contains the six families [[Biology:Trichomycteridae|Trichomycteridae]], [[Biology:Nematogenyiidae|Nematogenyiidae]], [[Biology:Callichthyidae|Callichthyidae]], [[Biology:Scoloplacidae|Scoloplacidae]], [[Biology:Astroblepidae|Astroblepidae]], and [[Biology:Loricariidae|Loricariidae]]. Some schemes also include [[Biology:Amphiliidae|Amphiliidae]]. This superfamily, including Amphiliidae, includes about 156 [[Biology:Genus|genera]] and 1,187 [[Biology:Species|species]].<ref name="Nelson">{{cite book|title=Fishes of the World|last=Nelson|first=Joseph S.|publisher={{wipe|John Wiley & Sons}}, Inc|year=2006|isbn=0-471-25031-7}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
Loricarioidea is traditionally considered a part of Siluroidei, a clade of all catfishes excluding [[Biology:Diplomystidae|Diplomystidae]].<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite journal|journal=Mol Phylogenet Evol|year=2006|volume=41|issue=3|pages=636–62|title=A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences|last=Sullivan|first=JP|author2=Lundberg JG |author3=Hardman M |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.044|pmid=16876440}}</ref> In Nelson, 2006, this grouping is [[Biology:Cladistics|sister]] to the superfamily [[Biology:Sisoroidea|Sisoroidea]].<ref name="Nelson"/> However, in a recent molecular analysis, it was determined that the suborder '''Loricarioidei''' (not including Amphiliidae) is sister to a group including Diplomystidae and Siluroidei. Amphiliidae, in this analysis, was found to be much more closely related to [[Biology:Mochokidae|Mochokidae]] or [[Biology:Malapteruridae|Malapteruridae]].<ref name="Sullivan"/>

Loricarioidea is currently diagnosed by the derived presence of a reduced gas bladder, encapsulated in expansions of the parapophysis of the first [[Biology:Vertebra|vertebra]]e, and of [[Biology:Odontode|odontode]]s, small dermal denticles.<ref name="Reis">{{cite web|url=http://www.tolweb.org/Callichthyidae/15197|title=Callichthyidae. Armored Catfishes|first=Roberto E.|last=Reis|publisher=[[Biology:Tree of Life Web Project|Tree of Life Web Project]]|date=1998-05-14|access-date=2007-07-04}}</ref> Amphiliidae is the most [[Biology:Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] group in Loricarioidea.<ref name="Nelson"/> In some older sources, Amphiliidae is not even included in this classification.<ref name="Schaefer"/> Based on morphologically evidence, Trichomycteridae and Nematogenyiidae diverge first; these two families are probably sister groups.<ref name="Nelson"/> This relationship was neither supported nor rejected by molecular evidence.<ref name="Sullivan"/> Next, the order of divergence is probably Callichthyidae, then Scoloplacidae, and then Astroblepidae and Loricariidae.<ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="Sullivan"/> A trend in increasingly complex jaw morphology can be seen in this superfamily, which may have allowed for the great diversification of the Loricariidae, which have the most advanced jaws.<ref name="Schaefer"/>

==Distribution and habitat==
These fish are found in [[Earth:Fresh water|freshwater]] habitats in the Neotropics, inhabiting [[Earth:South America|South America]], Panama, and Costa Rica. Most species inhabit stream habitats or pools; water in these habitats tends to move relatively quickly.<ref name="Schaefer"/> Loricariids and Astroblepids have adapted to this with [[Biology:Suckermouth|suckermouth]]s that allow them to cling to surfaces. Astroblepids even have the ability to climb up waterfalls.<ref name="Nelson"/>

==Description==
Like other catfish, loricarioidean catfish tend to have whiskers (except within the family Loricariidae). Fish in this group can be naked or, in the case of Callichthyids, Scoloplacids, and Loricariids, armored with bony plates.<ref name="Nelson"/> Most loricarioid species are depressed (flattened) in body shape, though Callichthyids tend to be more compressed (thin).<ref name="Schaefer"/> Loricarioidea is defined by two characters. First, they have a unique, encapsulated gas bladder. Also, they have integumentary teeth called odontodes on their body and [[Biology:Fish anatomy#Fins|fin rays]].<ref name="Schaefer"/> In Loricariids, these odontodes on their [[Biology:Operculum (fish)|gill cover]] can be extended outwards.<ref name="Schaefer"/> Astroblepids may use their odontodes as a sensory organ.<ref name="Schaefer2">{{cite journal|title=Odontode Morphology and Skin Surface Features of Andean Astroblepid Catfishes (Siluriformes, Astroblepidae)|url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/98516106/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0|last=Schaefer|first=Scott A.|author2=Buitrago-Suárez, Uriel Angel|journal=Journal of Morphology|year=2002|format=[[PDF]]|doi=10.1002/jmor.10024|volume=254|pages=139–48|pmid=12353298|issue=2|s2cid = 27019672|postscript=254:139–148}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==Ecology==
Loricarioidea is a very diverse [[Biology:Monophyly|monophyletic]] group. These fish exhibit a wide range of [[Biology:Morphology|morphologies]] and occupy many different [[Earth:Habitat|habitat]]s and [[Earth:Trophic level|trophic level]]s. This group includes [[Earth:Herbivore|herbivore]]s, [[Biology:Omnivore|omnivore]]s, and even [[Biology:Parasite|parasite]]s (candirú) and wood-eating species (''[[Biology:Panaque|Panaque]]'').<ref name="Schaefer">{{cite journal|title=Historical Transformation of Functional Design: Evolutionary Morphology of Feeding Mechanisms in Loricarioid Catfishes|last=Schaefer|first=Scott A.|author2=Lauder, George V. |journal=Systematic Zoology|year=1986|publisher=Society of Systematic Biologists|volume=35|pages=489–508|doi=10.2307/2413111|jstor=2413111|issue=4}}</ref><ref name=wood>{{cite journal|title=Wood-eating catfishes of the genus ''Panaque'': gut microflora and cellulolytic enzyme activities|journal=Journal of Fish Biology|year=1999|volume=54|pages=1069–1082|last=Nelson|first=J. A.|author2=Wubah, D. A.|author3=Whitmer, M. E.|author4=Johnson, E. A.|author5=Stewart, D. J.|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8649.1999.tb00858.x|issue=5}}</ref> Loricariidae is by far the most successful and diverse family with approximately 700 species (and new species being discovered each year), and is the most species-rich family in the entire order.<ref name="Nelson"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1651246}}

[[Category:Siluriformes]]
[[Category:Vertebrate superfamilies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Loricarioidea}}