Acanthodoras is a genus of thorny catfish in family Doradidae, widespread across the Amazon and Orinoco basins and the rivers of the Guianas - the atlas records it from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname. Atlas species run 3–7 in. Like other doradids, they carry rows of bony armor plates along the flanks and stout, locking pectoral and dorsal spines, and can produce audible sounds by stridulating those spines against their sockets - the source of the family's talking catfish nickname.
The chocolate Raphael (A. cataphractus) is the species most familiar to aquarists, a hardy, nocturnal, peaceful scavenger long kept in community catfish tanks and valued for its undemanding care; it appreciates driftwood, leaf litter, and dim hiding spots by day. The flat-bodied thorny catfish (A. depressus) and spiny talking catfish (A. spinosissimus) are traded less often but share the same easygoing omnivorous habits. Conservation status is reassuring where assessed - two of the three atlas species are Least Concern, with the third Not Evaluated.