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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: suckermouth catfish
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: The genus Hypostomus contains about 116 species (Burgess 1989). Highlighting the serious need for additional taxonomic and systematic work, Armbruster (1997) concluded that it is currently impossible to identify most species in the genus. Several apparently different Hypostomus species have been collected in the United States but not definitively identified to species level (Page and Burr 1991; Courtenay and Stauffer 1990). Distinguishing characteristics of the genus and a key to loricariid genera were provided by Burgess (1989) and Armbruster (1997). Photographs appeared in Burgess (1989) and Ferraris (1991). Hypostomus has officially replaced the generic name Plecostomus. The genus was included in the key to Texas fishes of Hubbs et al. (1991) and several identifying traits were also given by Page and Burr (1991).
Size: Depending on species, maximum
Native Range:
Tropical America. South and Central America from Uruguay north to Panama (Burgess 1989).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: A single specimen was taken from the lower Colorado River near Headgate Rock Dam above Parker, Arizona, in 1986 (Lea, personal communication to Courtenay). An unidentified Hypostomus was collected in geothermal waters of Upper Rio Grande drainage in the San Luis Valley, Conejos County, Colorado, during the period 1980 to 1984 (Zuckerman and Behnke 1986). Several specimens, reportedly members of this genus, were taken from the Thames River drainage, Connecticut (Whitworth 1996). There are several reports of Hypostomus from Florida. Burgess (1958) indicated that Plecostomus sp. (= Hypostomus) had been reported in the Hillsborough County area, but none were taken during his 1958 fish survey of Six Mile Creek. Later, in the 1970s, collections verified its presence in Six Mile Creek (museum specimens). There also are reports of Hypostomus in south Florida. Courtenay et al. (1974) reported that a member of this genus had inhabited the Snapper Creek Canal system since 1959. There also was a record from a rock pit in West Miami, Dade County, in the early 1960s (Rivas 1965). Other south Florida records include Westwood Lake, southwestern Miami in Dade County; Snake Creek Canal on the border of Dade and Broward counties; and Conservation Area No. 3 (Courtenay et al. 1974; Courtenay and Hensley 1979a; Courtenay and McCann 1981). However, the only south Florida record based on a specimen involves a fish taken from Coral Gables Canal, Dade County, in 1960 (museum specimen). There is an unconfirmed report of a specimen taken in Lake Jessup on the St. John's River (Courtenay et al. 1974). There is also an unconfirmed report of a Hypostomus in Volusia County just west of Deland (Moody 2003). Another specimen was reported in Brevard County in August of 2003 (Fahrenkrug 2003). An unidentified Hypostomus is established and abundant in Manoa Stream, Oahu, Hawaii; the catfish first was discovered there in 1988 (Devick 1991a, 1991b). A Hypostomus also was collected from an unspecified water body in Louisiana (Tilyou, personal communication). A Hypostomus species has been established in Indian Spring, a thermal spring in Clark County, Nevada, since at least 1966 (Minckley 1973; Courtenay and Deacon 1982; Deacon and Williams 1984; Courtenay and Stauffer 1990). A single member of this genus was taken from Muncy Creek in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, from the Susquehanna River drainage on 8 August 1980 (Courtenay, personal communication; museum specimen). The first specimens collected in open waters of Texas were from a headwater stream of the San Antonio River near the San Antonio Zoo in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, in the spring of 1962; reproduction and apparent overwintering of the population was documented in 1964 (Barron 1964). Subsequent collections and records have confirmed its survival in the same locality (Hubbs et al. 1978; Hubbs 1982; Howells 1992a). Two specimens were collected from Landa Lake at the headwaters of the Comal River in Comal County on 1 August 1990 (Whiteside and Berkhouse 1992). A Hypostomus also has been reported from specimens taken from Comal Springs, Comal County, Texas, in 1991 (Hubbs et al. 1991; Howells 1992a). Several Hypostomus of different size class have been collected in San Felipe Creek, Texas (Gleason 2004).
Means of Introduction: Members of this genus have been introduced through a combination of fish farm escapes or releases, and aquarium releases (Courtenay and Stauffer 1990; Courtenay and Williams 1992). In Texas, the initial introduction occurred when Hypostomus entered local streams after escaping from pool and canal systems of the San Antonio Zoological Gardens in or before 1962 (Barron 1964); the Comal County introduction was probably due to an aquarium release (Whiteside and Berkhouse 1992).
Status: Several morphologically distinct but unidentified Hypostomus species have been recorded as established in the United States; these included populations in Indian Springs in Nevada; Hillsborough County in Florida; and the San Antonio River in Texas (Courtenay and Deacon 1982; Courtenay et al. 1984, 1986; Courtenay and Stauffer 1990; Page and Burr 1991). A population of an unidentified Hypostomus species is firmly established in Hawaii (Devick 1991a, 1991b). Reported from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania,
Impact of Introduction: The effects of these loricariid catfish is largely unknown. In Texas, Hubbs et al. (1978) reported possible local displacement of algae-feeding native fishes such as Campostoma anomalum by Hypostomus. Because of their abundance in Hawaii, introduced Hypostomus and Pterygoplichthys may compete for food and space with native stream species (Devick 1989). Once established, armored catfishes are difficult or impossible to eradicate. For example, the use of electroshocking as a control method in Hawaii has proven unsuccessful (Devick 1991a).
Remarks:
The Nevada population was reported originally as Plecostomus punctatus by Minckley (1973) and as Hypostomus plecostomus by Deacon and Williams (1984). Populations from Texas (e.g., Hubbs et al. 1978; Whiteside and Berkhouse 1992) and Florida (e.g., Rivas 1965) occasionally have been reported as Hypostomus plecostomus. According to Courtenay et al. (1974), the Florida Hypostomus species in the Hillsborough County area was probably different than that reported from the southern part of the state. In addition, most early reports from south Florida, and possibly elsewhere in the state, probably were based on incorrect identifications of Pterygoplichthys (Loftus and Kushlan 1987; Ludlow and Walsh 1991; Nico, personal observation). Courtenay (personal communication) reviewed records of loricariid catfishes from southeastern Florida and located only one specimen of the genus Hypostomus (now deposited at UF - UF 98938), collected from Coral Gables Canal at Red Road, Dade County, in 1960; he concluded that all other loricariids from Dade County were Pterygoplichthys. The Hypostomus inhabiting the Tampa area was reported as expanding its range into the Hillsborough River from Six Mile Creek (Courtenay and Stauffer 1990), but there are no supporting specimens, and these also may be based on misidentifications of Pterygoplichthys. Whitworth (1996) recorded the capture of specimens of an unidentified loricariid from the Thames River drainage, Connecticut, and listed it as Hypostomus. Unfortunately, he does not provide any information that might be useful in its positive identification. In his book, Whitworth included an illustration of a Hypostomus, but the drawing is from an old plate and not of the Connecticut fish. Distribution maps for Hypostomus found in the United States were given in Courtenay and Hensley (1979a), Lee et al. (1980 et seq.), and Courtenay and McCann (1981), but these maps most likely include records based on what is now recognized to be Pterygoplichthys. Members of this genus are popular aquarium fishes.
Voucher specimens: Florida (UF 30864, 98938, 98939, FDNR 08920), Hawaii (UF 91912), Nevada (UF 91914), Pennsylvania (PSU 1433?), Texas (UF 91915).
Gleason, K. 2004. Where have all the minnows gone? Del Rio News-Herald. July, 18 2004.
Other Resources:
Gulf of Mexico Program
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Leo Nico and Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 8/27/2004 Citation for this information:
Leo Nico and Pam Fuller. 2009. Hypostomus sp.. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=762> Revision Date: 8/27/2004
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