Barbus Arulius: Rineloricaria

Rineloricaria Species Biography

The genus is widely distributed on nearly the entire subcontinent, from Costa Rica to Argentina, on both slopes of the Andes.Rineloricaria species are found in a large variety of habitats, including large rivers, streams, and lagoons, associated with bottoms consisting of sand or rocks, sometimes found in marginal vegetation. They are also found to tolerate environments with a wide temperature gradient. Rineloricaria have an adaptive capacity enabling many species to exploit the most varied habitats; some species, such as R. strigilata, have been caught in highly polluted bodies of water and represent some of the main components of the ichthyological diversity in such habitats.