Corydoras acutus Cope, 1872
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
The blacktop corydoras (Corydoras acutus) is a tropical freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Corydoradinae, the corys, of the family Callichthyidae, the armoured catfishes. It originates in inland waters in South America, and is found in the Amazon River basin in Ecuador and Northern Peru. It was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1872.
The fish will grow in length up to 1.7 inches (4.3 centimeters). It lives in a tropical climate in water with a 6.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of 2–25 dGH, and a temperature range of 77–83 °F (25–28 °C). It feeds on worms, benthic crustaceans, insects, and plant matter. It lays eggs in dense vegetation and adults do not guard the eggs. The female holds 2–4 eggs between her pelvic fins, where the male fertilizes them for about 30 seconds. Only then does the female swim to a suitable spot, where she attaches the very sticky eggs. The pair repeats this process until about 100 eggs have been fertilized and attached.
The blacktop corydoras is of commercial importance in the aquarium trade industry.
Wikipedia contributors, Blacktop corydoras; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:24:31.742679+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Corydoras acutus Cope, 1872
- Name authority
- Cope, 1872
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Callichthyidae
- Genus
- Corydoras
- 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
- familyCallichthyidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyCorydoradinae Hoedeman, 1952
- genusCorydoras Lacepède, 1803
- speciesCorydoras acutus Cope, 1872
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Corydoras. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Corydoras vittatus Nijssen, 1971 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras hastatus Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras araguaiaensis Sands, 1990 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras amphibelus Cope, 1872 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras solox Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1983 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras cochui Myers & Weitzman, 1954 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras bilineatus Knaack, 2002 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras ambiacus Cope, 1872 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras albolineatus Knaack, 2004 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras steindachneri Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1973 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras loretoensis Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1986 | CallichthyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Corydoras acrensis Nijssen, 1972 | CallichthyidaeChordata | 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.
- Cope, E. D. (1872). On the fishes of the Ambyiacu River. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 23: 250–294, Pls. 3–16. 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:6B6VG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.