Genus · Plecos

Delturus

Delturus is a genus with 4 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Plecos section, recorded from Brazil. Adult sizes run from 7.5 in to 9.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
4
Adult sizes
7.5–9.5 in
IUCN assessed
4 of 4 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
Brazil

About the genus

Delturus is a genus of armored suckermouth catfish (family Loricariidae) placed in the small subfamily Delturinae, endemic to coastal river drainages of southeastern Brazil. The atlas's 4 species range 7.5–9.5 in, sharing the loricariid plan of bony body armor and a ventral sucker mouth adapted for gripping stream substrate in current. Delturus parahybae takes its Portuguese common name, cascudo do Paraíba, from the Paraíba do Sul, one of the drainages the genus is associated with — a heavily developed river system running through one of Brazil's most industrialized and densely populated regions.

This is a genus of largely scientific rather than hobby interest; none of the other three species in the atlas carry an English common name, and Delturus has little presence in the aquarium trade compared with the loricariids more commonly kept. The conservation picture is serious at the extreme: of the four atlas species, three are Least Concern but one is Critically Endangered, consistent with the intense habitat degradation, pollution, and damming that southeastern Brazil's coastal rivers have experienced — pressures long documented for other fish endemic to that region.

IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered · 1 Least Concern · 3

The 4 species

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

(Steindachner, 1877)

7.5 in SL · LC

Reis & Pereira, 2006

7.5 in SL · LC

(La Monte, 1933)

9.5 in SL · LC

Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889

Cascudo do Paraíba

8.5 in SL · CR

Explore further

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Delturus. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/delturus/

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