OT: Wolverine Fish discovered
Hail to Hopliancistrus wolverine!
“This species has strong lateral curved spikes called odontodes tucked under the gill covers that can be extended to jab anything that tries to mess with them... Other related species in the same family, even those with big spines, aren’t known to demonstrate such behaviour. The researchers who described this species ended up with quite a few finger injuries while collecting specimens from the wild.”
not the most handsome fella, but hey, jab those spikes!
I was expecting something more like this...
i think you're going to need to do the old 'm.s. paint' for some spikes for mike p.
Looks similar to a plecostomus.
Same family of fish.
It is a pleco. There are hundreds of known species of plecos, and they discover new ones all the time.
My immediate thought too ... PLECO
I once bought a blue eyed pleco for 35 dollars in college. Dropped it in the tank, went to lunch with my mom who was visiting, and came back to see the poor thing was destroyed by my red devil.
When was this? There are a couple different "blue eyed Pleco" in the hobby. The Blue Eyed Panaque used to sell for $35 a couple decades ago. Now about $350.
yeah, this was about 25 years ago. So they sell for that much now? wow.
It was beatiful. Bright deep blue eyes, and the pleco was more 'solid black' then the normal black/grey pattern they usually are. I was kind of devestated - it was a beautiful fish.
looked exactly like this fella ....
https://www.tropicalfishsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/blue_eyed_pleco-300x199.jpg
March 24th, 2022 at 10:09 AM ^
Yeah they are crazy expensive. Pretty interesting. Neat fish but I can't bring myself to spend that kind of coin. Yet.
March 24th, 2022 at 12:04 PM ^
I agree blue-eyed plecos are gorgeous. they can grow fast and mean at times they hold their own in a tank of african cichlids. I have a zebra pleco now it is just as eye catching.
Snikt!
Haha. Not something I would have expected to see on MGoBlog. This fish has been in the aquarium hobby for a while but only recently got scientifically described.
I keep a bunch of aquariums, and specifically keep many of this family of fish (Loricariidae) and have been trying to track one of these down ever since it was described as H. wolverine, but no luck so far. One importer had them, but I wasn't ready to spend. Now I'm ready, and they're no longer available.
I am sure that species of fish will soon be singing...."It's Great to be a Fishhhyyy Wolverine! It's Great to be a Fishhhyyy Wolverine!"
March 24th, 2022 at 12:17 PM ^
It's Fishigan Wolverine.
ehh, i would have gone with "stabby-face sucker fish" just to hear David Attenborough say that but whatever.
March 24th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
+1 for the Attenborough reference. One of the greatest of all time.
March 24th, 2022 at 10:02 AM ^
Looks a little like the plecostomus that cleans the algae off the inside of a fish tank. ...but with spikes!
March 24th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
Go Blue! Go fish!
March 24th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
The spikes on the side of the face are called odontodes, and they are not always out like this. It's actually a very attractive fish IMO.
The fish belongs to the family Loricarridae which also includes the "Pleco" that many of you know. There are hundreds if not thousands of fish in this family. Many of them have yet to get a scientific description, and instead are given an "L-number" as an identifier. This fish was previously known as Hopliancistrus sp. "L017" but now has been given a proper description.
Pretty much all fish in the Loricarridae family have opercular odontodes like this fish that are used as a defense mechanism, however the large three prong look is specific to this species. It's pretty neat to watch them stick these out when they feel threatened.
March 24th, 2022 at 12:05 PM ^
THATS NO F***ING WOLVERINE
March 24th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
I’ve done plenty of fishing but I’m not sure I would feel good getting that off the hook.
March 24th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
I'm a Hip Hopliancistrus, my stabs are disastrous
Okay, now all we need is a bird and we'll be able to f you up on air, land, and sea.
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