Genus · Corydoras

Hoplisoma

Hoplisoma is a genus with 121 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Corydoras section, recorded from Brazil, Colombia, Suriname and 9 more countries. Adult sizes run from 1 in to 4 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas: 121
Adult sizes: 1–4 in
IUCN assessed: 121 of 121 · 6 threatened
Recorded from: 12 countries

About the genus

Hoplisoma is one of several genera carved out of the traditional Corydoras in a 2024 taxonomic revision that split the old broad genus into smaller lineages on the basis of DNA and morphology. Species now placed in Hoplisoma remain some of the most familiar armored catfish in the aquarium trade: small, peaceful, barbel-equipped bottom feeders native to river and stream systems across South America, with the atlas's coverage concentrated in Brazil, Colombia, Suriname, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Guyana. Adults are compact, from about 1 in to 4 in, with the double row of bony armor plates and downturned, barbel-fringed mouth that define the group commonly known as corydoras or 'cory cats.'

This is a genus where the aquarium hobby, not scientific curiosity, drives most of the attention: species like Adolfo's cory (H. adolfoi), Boeseman's cory (H. boesemani) and the salt-and-pepper cory (H. habrosus) are long-standing community-tank staples valued for their calm, shoaling temperament and their habit of working the substrate for leftover food. Because the genus was only recently split out from Corydoras in the broad sense, many older aquarium references and product labels still use the earlier name, and it will likely take time for Hoplisoma to become as familiar in the hobby as Corydoras has long been. Conservation status is generally favorable where assessed, with the atlas tally led by 44 Least Concern species, though a large Not Evaluated share (61) shows how much of the group's wild status still hasn't been formally reviewed.

IUCN Red List: Endangered · 1 Vulnerable · 5 Near Threatened · 3 Least Concern · 44 Data Deficient · 7 Not Evaluated · 61

The 121 species

Every Hoplisoma recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources. 21 have hobbyist breeding reports (◉).

Corydoras acrensis

(Nijssen, 1972)

Acre corydoras, Acre cory

1 in SL · LC

Corydoras adolfoi

◉

Burgess, 1982

Adolfo's cory, Adolfo's catfish, Adolfo's corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras albolineatus

Knaack, 2004

White stripe cory, White-lined corydoras, C056

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras amphibelus

(Cope, 1872)

Mystery cory, Amphibelus cory

Corydoras apiaka

(Espíndola, Spencer, Rocha & Britto, 2014)

Arinos cory, Apiaka cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras araguaiaensis

Sands, 1990

Araguaia cory, Corydoras CW028

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras atropersonatus

Weitzman & Nijssen, 1970

Fairy cory, Fairy corydoras, Masked cory

2 in TL · DD

Corydoras axelrodi

◉

Rössel, 1962

Axelrod's cory, Pink cory, Pink corydoras

1.5 in SL · VU

Corydoras baderi

(Geisler, 1969)

Road cory, Bader's cory

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras benattii

(Espíndola, Tencatt, Pupo, Villa-Verde & Britto, 2018)

Speckled Xingu cory, C022

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras bicolor

(Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1967)

Two-tone cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras boehlkei

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1982

Caura cory, Böhlke's cory

1 in SL · VU

Corydoras boesemani

(Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1967)

Boeseman's cory, Boeseman's catfish

1 in SL · LC

Corydoras bondi

Gosline, 1940

Bond's cory, Blackstripe corydoras, C031

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras breei

(Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1992)

Avanavero cory, Bree's cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras burgessi

◉

Axelrod, 1987

Burgess' cory, Burgess's corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras carlae

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1983

Carla's cory

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras caudimaculatus

Rössel, 1961

Tail-spot cory, Tailspot corydoras, Spotted-tail catfish

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras cochui

Myers & Weitzman, 1954

Cochu's dwarf cory, Barredtail cory, Cochu's catfish

1 in SL · NE

Corydoras colossus

Tencatt, Grant & Bentley, 2023

Colossus cory, CW045

4 in TL · NE

Corydoras concolor

(Weitzman, 1961)

Slate cory, Blue cory, Concolor cory

2.5 in SL · NT

Corydoras copei

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1986

Cope's cory, Cope's corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras cruziensis

Knaack, 2002

Santa Cruz cory, C012

1.5 in SL · DD

Corydoras davidsandsi

◉

(Black, 1987)

Sands' cory, David Sands' cory, Davidsandsi cory

2.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras diphyes

Axenrot & Kullander, 2003

Variable cory

2 in SL · VU

Corydoras duplicareus

◉

Sands, 1995

Broad stripe cory, Duplicate cory, False adolfoi cory

1.5 in SL · DD

Corydoras ehrhardti

Steindachner, 1910

Ehrhardt's cory, Ehrhardt's corydoras, Olive cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras esperanzae

Castro, 1987

Orocue cory

2 in SL · DD

Corydoras evelynae

Rössel, 1963

Evelyn's cory, Evelyn's corydoras

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras eversi

Tencatt & Britto, 2016

Guarana cory, Soda pop cory, C065

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras flaveolus

(Ihering, 1911)

Yellow cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras froehlichi

Tencatt, Britto & Pavanelli, 2016

Froehlich's cory

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras gladysae

(Calviño & Alonso, 2010)

Gladys' cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras gossei

◉

Nijssen, 1972

Gosse's cory, Palespotted corydoras, Gosse's catfish

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras granti

◉

(Tencatt, Lima & Britto, 2019)

Skunk cory, Skunk corydoras

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras griseus

Holly, 1940

Gray corydoras, Grey cory

1.5 in SL · EN

Corydoras gryphus

Tencatt, Britto & Pavanelli, 2014

Dragon fin cory, Griffon cory

1.5 in SL · DD

Corydoras guianensis

◉

Nijssen, 1970

Light cory, Guiana cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras habrosus

◉

Weitzman, 1960

Salt-and-pepper cory, Checker cory, Dainty cory

1.5 in TL · NT

Corydoras hypnos

Tencatt, Ohara, Sousa & Britto, 2022

CW173

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras julii

Steindachner, 1906

Julii cory, Julii corydoras, Leopard corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras kanei

Grant, 1998

Kane's cory, C026, C046

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras knaacki

Tencatt & Evers, 2016

Knaack's cory, Morse code cory, CW032

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras lacrimostigmata

Tencatt, Britto & Pavanelli, 2014

Teardrop cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras leucomelas

Eigenmann & Allen, 1942

False spotted cory, Blackfin cory, False spotted catfish

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras longipinnis

Knaack, 2007

Long-finned cory, Long-finned corydoras

2.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras loretoensis

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1986

Loreto cory, Loreto corydoras

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras loxozonus

◉

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1983

Slant-bar cory, Slant-bar corydoras, Dirty bandit cory

2 in SL · VU

Corydoras lymnades

Tencatt, Vera-Alcaraz, Britto & Pavanelli, 2013

Nose-striped cory

1 in SL · NE

Corydoras melanistius

◉

Regan, 1912

Bluespotted cory, Blackspotted cory, Blacksail cory

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras melini

Lönnberg & Rendahl, 1930

False bandit cory, Diagonal-stripe cory, Bandit corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras metae

◉

Eigenmann, 1914

Bandit cory, Masked corydoras, Meta River cory

2 in SL · VU

Corydoras micracanthus

(Regan, 1912)

Andes cory, Salta cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras multimaculatus

(Steindachner, 1907)

Many-spotted cory, C059

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras nattereri

◉

Steindachner, 1876

Natterer's cory, Blue cory, Blue corydoras

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras oiapoquensis

◉

Nijssen, 1972

Flag-tailed panda cory, Oyapock cory

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras ortegai

Britto, Lima & Hidalgo, 2007

Loreto panda cory, Loreto panda corydoras

2 in TL · LC

Corydoras osteocarus

Böhlke, 1951

Bonehead cory, Orinoco dwarf cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras panda

◉

(Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1971)

Panda cory, Panda corydoras, Panda catfish

1.5 in SL · NT

Corydoras paragua

(Knaack, 2004)

Paragua cory, Paragua corydoras

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras parallelus

(Burgess, 1993)

Two-line cory, Duplicate cory, C002

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras pavanelliae

Tencatt & Ohara, 2016

Pavanelli's cory

2 in SL · LC

Corydoras petracinii

Calviño & Alonso, 2010

Petracini's cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras polystictus

Regan, 1912

Many-spotted cory, Fine-spotted cory, Polystictus cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras potaroensis

Myers, 1927

Potaro cory, Potaro corydoras

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras psamathos

Tencatt, Ohara, Sousa & Britto, 2022

Sand cory

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras punctatus

(Bloch, 1794)

Spotfin corydoras, Spotted cory

2.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras reynoldsi

(Myers & Weitzman, 1960)

Reynolds' cory, Bumblebee cory

1.5 in SL · DD

Corydoras rikbaktsa

Lima & Britto, 2020

Rikbaktsa cory, CW154

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras sanchesi

◉

Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1967

Gojo cory, Sanchez's cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras schwartzi

(Rössel, 1963)

Schwartz's cory, Schwartz's catfish

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras similis

Hieronimus, 1991

Smudge-spot cory, Violet cory, Smudge spot corydoras

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras steindachneri

Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1973

Steindachner's cory, Paraná cory

2 in SL · DD

Corydoras sterbai

◉

Knaack, 1962

Sterba's cory, Sterba's corydoras, Sterbai cory

2.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras thanatos

Tencatt, Ohara, Sousa & Britto, 2022

Death cory, CW146

1.5 in SL · NE

Corydoras trilineatus

◉

Cope, 1872

Three-line cory, Three-lined cory, False julii cory

2.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras tukano

Britto & Lima, 2003

Tucano cory, Tukano cory

1.5 in SL · LC

Corydoras urucu

Britto, Wosiacki & Montag, 2009

Urucu cory

1 in SL · LC

Corydoras weitzmani

◉

Nijssen, 1971

Weitzman's cory, Two-saddle corydoras, Twosaddle cory

2 in SL · NE

Corydoras xinguensis

◉

(Nijssen, 1972)

Xingu cory, Xingu corydoras

1.5 in SL · NE

Hoplisoma armatum

(Günther, 1868)

Sail cory, Armatus cory, Corydoras armatus

2.5 in SL · LC

Hoplisoma brevirostre

(Fraser-Brunner, 1947)

Spotted collar cory, Short-snouted cory, Corydoras brevirostris

2 in SL · LC

Hoplisoma coppenamense

(Nijssen, 1970)

Chop stick cory, Coppename cory, Corydoras coppenamensis

1.5 in SL · LC

Hoplisoma noxium

Tencatt, Ohara, Carvalho, Grant & Britto, 2025

Tapajós spotted cory, Corydoras noxium

2.5 in SL · NE

Hoplisoma osvaldoi

Alonso, Terán, Aguilera, Montes, Serra Alanís, Calviño, Vera-Alcaraz, Cardoso, Koerber & Mirande, 2024

Bermejo cory, Osvaldo's cory, Corydoras osvaldoi

2 in TL · NE

Hoplisoma paleatum

◉

(Jenyns, 1842)

Peppered cory, Peppered corydoras, Pepper cory

3 in SL · LC

Hoplisoma sipaliwini

(Hoedeman, 1965)

Nail cory, Sipaliwini cory, Corydoras sipaliwini

2 in SL · LC

Hoplisoma tenebrosum

Tencatt, Ohara, Carvalho, Grant & Britto, 2025

Dusky cory, Corydoras tenebrosus

2 in SL · NE

Hoplisoma tenharim

Lam, Cassaro, Ohara & Pastana, 2026

Corydoras tenharim

1 in SL · NE

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Hoplisoma. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/hoplisoma/

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