Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 28, 2026

Otocinclus mimulus

Otocinclus mimulus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armored catfishes, and the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos. This catfish is found in South America, where it is found in small tributaries of the Monday river, itself a right bank tributary of the Paraná river in Paraguay. This species reaches a standard length of 4.3 cm (1.7 in).

Last revised
Jul 28, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
244 w
Citations
6
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Otocinclus mimulus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Loricariidae
Genus: Otocinclus
Species:
O. mimulus
Binomial name
Otocinclus mimulus

Otocinclus mimulus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armored catfishes, and the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos.2 This catfish is found in South America, where it is found in small tributaries of the Monday river, itself a right bank tributary of the Paraná river in Paraguay.1 This species reaches a standard length of 4.3 cm (1.7 in).3

Otocinclus mimulus is a Batesian mimic of Hoplisoma diphyes. H. diphyes is inedible to many species due to its bony armor and so individual O. mimulus that look more similar to H. diphyes are less likely to be eaten by predators like Saxatilia lepidota. O. mimulus is named for its mimicry of H. diphyes.4

References

References

  1. Vera-Alcaraz, H.S. (2023). "Otocinclus mimulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T176492862A176492914. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T176492862A176492914.en. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  2. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Otocinclus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Otocinclus mimulus". FishBase. February 2026 version.
  4. Axenrot, Thomas E.; Sven O. Kullander (2003). "Corydoras diphyes (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) and Otocinclus mimulus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), two new species of catfishes from Paraguay, a case of mimetic association". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 14 (3): 249–272.