Otocinclus mimulus Axenrot & Kullander, 2003
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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).
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Otocinclus mimulus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:27:55.558730+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Otocinclus mimulus Axenrot & Kullander, 2003
- Name authority
- Axenrot & Kullander, 2003
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Loricariidae
- Genus
- Otocinclus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyLoricariidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyHypoptopomatinae Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1890
- genusOtocinclus Cope, 1871
- speciesOtocinclus mimulus Axenrot & Kullander, 2003
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Otocinclus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Otocinclus mangaba Lehmann A., Mayer & Reis, 2010 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus mura Schaefer, 1997 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus arnoldi Regan, 1909 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus bororo Schaefer, 1997 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus flexilis Cope, 1894 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus affinis Steindachner, 1877 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus batmani Lehmann A., 2006 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus caxarari Schaefer, 1997 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus cocama Reis, 2004 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus huaorani Schaefer, 1997 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus juruenae Ribeiro & Lehmann A., 2016 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Otocinclus mariae Fowler, 1940 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Axenrot, T. E., & Kullander, S. O. (2003). Corydoras diphyes (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) and Otocinclus mimulus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), two new species of catfishes from Paraguay, a case of minetic association. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 14. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4B7B5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.