Plectrochilus
{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Plectrochilus
| image = Plectrochilus_diabolicus_(Myers,_1927)_473368702.jpg
| authority = Miranda-Ribeiro, 1917
| type_species = Plectrochilus machadoi
| type_species_authority = Miranda Ribeiro, 1917
| subdivision_ranks =
| subdivision =
}}
Plectrochilus is a genus of pencil catfishes native to South America.
Species
There are currently three recognized species in this genus:{{FishBase genus | genus = Plectrochilus| month = February | year = 2012}}
- Plectrochilus diabolicus (Myers, 1927)
- Plectrochilus machadoi (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1917)
- Plectrochilus wieneri (Pellegrin, 1909)
P. diabolicus and P. machadoi are found in the Amazon River basin in Brazil and Peru, while P. wieneri is found in the Napo River basin of Ecuador.{{cite journal|url=http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf|title=Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types|first=Carl J. Jr.|last=Ferraris|journal=Zootaxa|volume=1418|pages=1–628|year=2007|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1 }}
P. diabolicus grows to 4.8 centimetres (1.9 in) SL.{{FishBase|genus=Plectrochilus|species=diabolicus|year=2007|month=July}} P. machadoi grows to 9.3 cm (3.7 in).{{FishBase|genus=Plectrochilus|species=machadoi|year=2007|month=July}}
Specimens of P. machadoi have been found partially buried in the belly of a specimen of Pseudoplatystoma where it apparently had burrowed through the body wall.
References
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7204401}}
Category:Catfish of South America
Category:Fish of the Amazon basin
Category:Freshwater fish genera
Category:Taxa named by Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro
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