Genus · Catfish

Hoplomyzon

Hoplomyzon is a genus with 4 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Catfish section, recorded from Venezuela and Ecuador. Adult sizes run from 0.5 in to 1.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
4
Adult sizes
0.5–1.5 in
IUCN assessed
4 of 4 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
2 countries

About the genus

Hoplomyzon is a genus of dwarf banjo catfishes (family Aspredinidae) from northern South America, recorded in the atlas from Venezuela and Ecuador. Like other banjo catfishes, the body is flattened and widened toward the head and narrows into a slender tail, giving the outline that lends the family its common name, and the skin bears bony plates and tubercles rather than scales. The atlas covers 4 species and the genus is exceptionally small-bodied even by banjo-catfish standards, running from roughly 0.5–1.5 in — among the tiniest catfishes recorded in the atlas.

Hoplomyzon has essentially no presence in the aquarium hobby; its members are bottom-dwelling, camouflage-adapted micro-catfish of scientific rather than ornamental interest, and none of the four species carries an established common name or trade history. Conservation status is mixed and worth flagging: the atlas tally includes one Vulnerable species alongside one Least Concern, one Data Deficient and one Not Evaluated, so at least part of the genus is already recognised as facing meaningful risk even though data across the group remain thin.

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable · 1 Least Concern · 1 Data Deficient · 1 Not Evaluated · 1

The 4 species

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

Myers, 1942

1 in SL · VU

Carvalho, Reis & Friel, 2017

0.5 in SL · NE

Stewart, 1985

0.5 in SL · DD

Taphorn & Marrero, 1990

1.5 in SL · LC

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Hoplomyzon. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/hoplomyzon/

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