Genus · Catfish

Acanthobunocephalus

Acanthobunocephalus is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Catfish section, recorded from Brazil and Venezuela. Adult sizes run from 1 in to 1 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
1 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
2 countries

About the genus

Acanthobunocephalus is a genus of banjo catfish (family Aspredinidae) from the Amazon basin of Brazil and Venezuela, and it is remarkable mainly for its size: the 2 species in the atlas measure only about 1 in, making this one of the smallest catfish genera known. Like other banjo catfish, its members have the flattened head and body with a long, slender tapering tail that gives the family its common name, an adaptation for lying camouflaged against sand and leaf litter on the riverbed.

This is a genus of scientific rather than aquarium interest - its diminutive size and specialist habitat mean it has essentially no presence in the hobby, and detailed behavioural or husbandry information stays sparse. Between the 2 species, the IUCN tally runs 1 Least Concern and 1 Vulnerable, a combination that reflects how a small, poorly surveyed genus like this can carry real extinction risk for individual species even while overall data remain limited.

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable · 1 Least Concern · 1

The 2 species

Every Acanthobunocephalus recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Friel, 1995

1 in SL · LC

Carvalho & Reis, 2020

Banjo catfish

1 in SL · VU

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Acanthobunocephalus. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/acanthobunocephalus/

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