Hypoptopoma is a genus of armored catfishes native to South America.
Taxonomy
The genus was established by Albert C. L. G. Günther in 1868 for his new species Hypoptopoma thoracatum, on the basis of the peculiar, depressed, spatulate formation of the head with the eyes on the lateral edges of the head.
Species
There are currently 15 recognized species in this genus: Hypoptopoma baileyi Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma bianale Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma brevirostratum Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma elongatum Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma guianense Boeseman, 1974 Hypoptopoma gulare Cope, 1878 Hypoptopoma incognitum Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma inexspectatum (Holmberg, 1893) Hypoptopoma joberti (Vaillant, 1880) Hypoptopoma machadoi Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma muzuspi Aquino & Schaefer, 2010 Hypoptopoma psilogaster Fowler, 1915 Hypoptopoma spectabile (Eigenmann, 1914) Hypoptopoma steindachneri Boulenger, 1895 Hypoptopoma sternoptychum (Schaefer, 1996) Hypoptopoma thoracatum Günther, 1868
Distribution
Hypoptopoma species inhabit the drainage basins to the east of the Andes, except for river systems draining to the Atlantic between the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil and the Paraná River in Argentina.