Hypancistrus margaritatus Tan & Armbruster, 2016
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
Hypancistrus margaritatus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes. It is known only from its type locality of the Takutu River of Guyana, which is a tributary of the Branco River, which is in turn a tributary of the Rio Negro in the Amazon basin. The species reaches a standard length of 4.6 cm (1.8 in). Its specific epithet, margaritatus, means "adorned with pearls" in Latin, referring to its distinctive pearl-like white spots. It was described in 2016 by Milton Tan and Jonathan W. Armbruster on the basis of coloration, alongside the related species Hypancistrus phantasma.
This species appears in the aquarium trade, where it is most frequently referred to by its L-number, which is L-404, but is also known as the pearlspotted angel pleco.
Wikipedia contributors, Hypancistrus margaritatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:50:41.826569+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hypancistrus margaritatus Tan & Armbruster, 2016
- Name authority
- Tan & Armbruster, 2016
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyLoricariidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyHypostominae Kner, 1853
- tribePeckoltini Armbruster & Lujan, 2025
- genusHypancistrus Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991
- speciesHypancistrus margaritatus Tan & Armbruster, 2016
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hypancistrus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Hypancistrus phantasma Tan & Armbruster, 2016 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hypancistrus zebra Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1991 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hypancistrus inspector Armbruster, 2002 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hypancistrus lunaorum Armbruster, Lujan & Taphorn, 2007 | LoricariidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hypancistrus vandragti (Lujan & Armbruster, 2011) | 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.
- Tan, M., & Armbruster, J. W. (2016). Two new species of spotted Hypancistrus from the Rio Negro drainage (Loricariidae, Hypostominae). ZooKeys, 552: 123–135. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.552.5956 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:6N2N9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.