Panaque schaeferi Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010
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
Panaque schaeferi is a freshwater species of fish from the South American armoured catfish family Loricariidae. Panaque schaeferi is widely distributed throughout the upper Amazon (Solimões River) in Peruvian and Ecuadorian rivers, and it has been observed as far down as Santarém, Brazil. Growing to at least 60 cm (23.6 inches) SL, it is one of the largest, and likely one of the heaviest species of Loricariid. It has been known in the aquarium trade since at least 1996 under various names such as 'Titanic pleco' and 'Volkswagen pleco' (due to its resemblance to the VW Beetle car), in addition to L203 and LDA065 under the L-number code. Juveniles are often confused with Panaque bathyphilus and erroneously called L090c. Panaque schaeferi is named in honor of Scott A. Schaefer of the American Museum of Natural History. Additionally, he is the ichthyological editor of Copeia for his many contributions to ichthyology in general, and in particular to the understanding of the Loricarioidea. Panaque schaeferi eats mainly wood from trees that have roots exposed into the river.
Wikipedia contributors, Panaque schaeferi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:29:31.467257+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Panaque schaeferi Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010
- Name authority
- Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Loricariidae
- Genus
- Panaque
- 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
- subfamilyHypostominae Kner, 1853
- tribeSpectracanthicini Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1989
- genusPanaque Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889
- speciesPanaque schaeferi Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Panaque. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Panaque bathyphilus Lujan & Chamon, 2008 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panaque suttonorum Schultz, 1944 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panaque armbrusteri Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panaque cochliodon (Steindachner, 1879) | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panaque nigrolineatus (Peters, 1877) | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panaque titan Lujan, Hidalgo & Stewart, 2010 | 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.
- Lujan, N. K., Hidalgo, M., & Stewart, D. J. (2010). Revision of Panaque (Panaque), with Descriptions of Three New Species from the Amazon Basin (Siluriformes, Loricariidae). Copeia, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1643/ci-09-185 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:4C9D9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.