Panaqolus is a genus of small to medium armored catfish in the pleco family Loricariidae, closely related to the true panaques (Panaque) and, like them, adapted to feed on waterlogged wood as well as algae and biofilm. The atlas's species are drawn from the western Amazon basin — Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela — where they live in rocky, current-swept stretches of river and stream. Panaqolus species are typically banded or striped rather than solid-colored, with a blunt head, sucker mouth, and spoon-shaped teeth suited to rasping wood fibers, and most stay compact by loricariid standards, in the 3–7 in range recorded here. The atlas covers 13 species.
Panaqolus is one of the most popular dwarf-pleco groups in the aquarium hobby: the clown pleco (Panaqolus maccus) is a mainstay of the trade thanks to its manageable size and bold cream-and-brown banding, and species like the flash pleco (P. albivermis), mustard spot pleco (P. albomaculatus), and dwarf panaque (P. gnomus) are also well known to pleco keepers. As wood-eaters, they do best with a driftwood piece in the tank to graze and rasp at, alongside sinking algae wafers and vegetables. Conservation status leans favorably — the majority of assessed species are least concern — though one atlas species is listed as endangered, and several remain unevaluated.