Peckoltia Pulcher
Peckoltia are members of the family Loricariidae, the armored suckermouth catfishes. As such, they have armor plating on their body instead of scales. Also, they have a suckermouth which they use to cling to rocks in their habitat. They have the characteristic Loricariid omega iris as well. Like many other catfish, Peckoltia have strong pectoral and dorsal fin spines that can be locked outwards as a defense.Peckoltia have unmodified teeth and the teeth on their upper jaw form an angle under 90 degrees. Most male Peckoltia have hypertrophied odontodes on their body during the breeding season. Except for P. bachi, Peckoltia do not have hypertrophied odontodes on the opercle.The biggest difference between all the Peckoltia species is coloration. They usually have a saddle-shaped marking on their back However, P. bachi and P. caenosa are mottled.Four species, P. braueri, P. caenosa, P. cavatica, and P. vittata, lack spots on their head while the rest have them. P. braueri and P. cavatica have orange bands in the dorsal and caudal fins and have the bones and plates of the head and nape outlined in black; in P. caenosa and P. vittata, there are no orange bands and head plates and bones are not outlined. P. caenosa has dark vermiculations on the head and abdomen. P. vittata has saddles or blotches on the head and faint dark spots on the abdomen. P. lineola and P. vermiculata have spots on their head that combine to form vermiculations. In P. lineola the spots form vermiculations that are wider than its pupils, while in P. vermiculata the spots form vermiculations narrower than its pupils; also, the vermiculations radiate from a central point on the head in P. vermiculata, while there is no such pattern in P. lineola.
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