Hypancistrus zebra Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991

Open encyclopedia reference

The zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes. This catfish is endemic to a small section of the Rio Xingu in Brazil. It occurs in the big bend area of the river, downstream from the town of Altamira, Para. It was first described in 1991. It gets its name from its black and white stripes, resembling the colouration of a zebra. This species grows to a length of 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) SL. This species was exported from Brazil in 1987 for sale as aquarium fish. However, currently, the Brazilian government bans the export of certain fish species, including H. zebra. H. zebra is threatened by the Belo Monte Dam in the Xingu river which has caused a severe reduction of the water flow of the entire known distribution range of the species. Due to this, the species has been classified as critically endangered and may soon become extinct in the wild.

Wikipedia contributors, Zebra pleco; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:50:41.827573+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hypancistrus zebra Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991

Name authority

Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Siluriformes

Family

Loricariidae

Genus

Hypancistrus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderSiluriformes
11. familyLoricariidae Rafinesque, 1815
12. subfamilyHypostominae Kner, 1853
13. tribePeckoltini Armbruster & Lujan, 2025
14. genusHypancistrus Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991
15. speciesHypancistrus zebra Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Hypancistrus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 823 records assigned to Loricariidae.

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.

1. Isbrücker, I. J. H., & Nijssen, H. (1991). Hypancistrus zebra, a new genus and species of uniquely pigmented ancistrine loricariid fish from the Rio Xingu, Brazil (Pisces: Siluriformes: Loricariidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 1. 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:6MQN8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.