Platydoras is a genus of thorny catfishes in the family Doradidae, native to Amazon and Orinoco basin drainages of tropical South America. The atlas covers 5 species ranging from roughly 6–10 in, with records from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Suriname. Like other doradid catfishes, they carry rows of bony, backward-pointing lateral plates along the flanks, strong locking spines in the dorsal and pectoral fins, and three pairs of barbels around the mouth. The genus's talking-catfish reputation comes from its ability to produce audible clicking and grunting sounds by rubbing pectoral spines against the shoulder girdle and via the swim bladder, a behaviour long noted by hobbyists who keep it.
Platydoras costatus (striped talking catfish) and the closely related P. armatulus, long sold under the same name before the two were separated, are among the most familiar catfish in the freshwater hobby: hardy, nocturnal scavengers with a bold black-and-cream striped pattern, an easygoing temperament toward similarly sized tankmates, and a reputation for outliving many other aquarium fish given a cave to retreat into by day. The remaining species, including P. birindellii and P. brachylecis, are far less commonly kept and known mainly from ichthyological survey work. With three of the five atlas species rated Least Concern and the rest not yet evaluated, the genus is not considered a conservation concern.