Otocinclus affinis Steindachner, 1877
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 affinis, the golden otocinclus, 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 endemic to southeastern Brazil, where it occurs in northern Rio de Janeiro state and the Ribeira de Iguape River in Sao Paulo state. The golden otocinclus is a herbivorous, rheophilic, bottom-feeder reachhes a standard length of 5 cm (2.0 in). The close relatives of this small fish are often used for the purpose of controlling algae in small home aquariums, under the name Otocinclus affinis. In reality, they belong to the species O. vittatus, O. vestitus and O. macrospilus and O. huaorani. The real O. affinis is rare in the aquarium hobby. O. affinis is a Batesian mimic of Corydoras nattereri. Due to its narrow stripe, M. affinis resembles this Corydoras species more than it does Otocinclus species. O. affinis prefers an aquarium with fast moving water, sandy substrate, and plenty of hiding areas (old broken clay pipes is a preferred hiding habitat).
Wikipedia contributors, Otocinclus affinis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:27:47.373844+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Otocinclus affinis Steindachner, 1877
- Name authority
- Steindachner, 1877
- 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 affinis Steindachner, 1877
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 mimulus Axenrot & Kullander, 2003 | 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 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Macrotocinclus affinis (Steindachner, 1877) (Steindachner, 1877) | synonym |
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.
- Steindachner, F. (1877). Die Süsswasserfische des südöstlichen Brasilien. (IV). Sitzungsberichte Der Kaiserlichen Akademie Der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, v. 76 (1. Abth.): 217–230, Pls. 1–2. [Also as a separate, pp. 1–14, Pls. 1–2]. 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:6TDZS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.