{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | taxon = Rhynchodoras | authority = Klausewitz & Rössel, 1961 | type_species = ''Rhynchodoras xingui'' | type_species_authority = Klausewitz & Rössel, 1961 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = }}
'''''Rhynchodoras''''' is a small genus of thorny catfishes native to South America. ''Rhynchodoras'' is closely related to ''Rhinodoras'' and ''Orinocodoras''.<ref name="PFK">{{cite web|url=http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1372|title=New doradid has proboscoid mouth|first=Heok Hee|last=Ng|publisher=Practical Fishkeeping|date=2007-09-10}}</ref>
== Species == There are currently three recognized species in this genus:<ref>{{FishBase genus | genus = Rhynchodoras| month = December | year = 2011}}</ref> * ''Rhynchodoras castilloi'' <small>Birindelli, Sabaj Pérez & Taphorn, 2007</small> * ''Rhynchodoras woodsi'' <small>Glodek, 1976</small> * ''Rhynchodoras xingui'' <small>Klausewitz & Rössel, 1961</small>
==Description== ''Rhynchodoras'' species are distinguished from all other doradids by their highly modified jaws which are strongly compressed, elongate, forceps-like in appearance, and project ventrally.<ref name="Glodek">{{cite journal|title=''Rhynchodoras woodsi'', A New Catfish from Eastern Ecuador (Siluriformes: Doradidae) with a Redefinition of ''Rhynchodoras''|first=Garrett S.|jstor=1443769|last=Glodek|journal=Copeia|year=1976|issue=1|pages=43–46|doi=10.2307/1443769|volume=1976}}</ref> The head is large and longer than it is wide, with a somewhat conical shape. There are three pairs of barbels, one pair of maxillary barbels and two pairs of mental barbels. Barbs occur on the dorsal fin and pectoral fin spines; on the anterior surface, barbs are curved towards the tip of the spine, and on the posterior surface are recurved away from the tip of the spine. The caudal fin is forked. There is a series of spined, lateral plates called scutes. Eyes are relatively small.<ref name="Glodek"/>
''R. woodsi'' can be differentiated from ''R. xingui'' by a smaller eye and a slightly longer upper jaw than lower jaw.<ref name="Glodek"/> Also, ''R. castilloi'' differs from ''R. woodsi'' by having abundant, punctate tubercles on the body, and it differs from ''R. xingui'' in the number of form of its scutes.<ref name="PFK"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7321693}}
Category:Doradidae Category:Fish of the Amazon basin Category:Catfish of South America Category:Catfish genera Category:Taxa named by Wolfgang Klausewitz Category:Taxa named by Fritz Rössel Category:Freshwater fish genera