| SOURCE FOR OCCURRENCE IN ECUADOR: This species is very common in the Guayas and Esmeraldas River drainages. There are many references for its occurrence in the area (e.g., Ovchynnyk, 1971; Glodek, 1978; Isbrücker, 1980; Barriga, 1994; Armbruster, 1997; Ferraris, 2007; Laaz & Torres, 2010; Eschmeyer, 2011). |
| ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Rendahl, H. 1937. Einige Fische aus Ecuador und Bolivia. Arkiv för Zoologi v. 29 (häfte 3) A (no. 11):1-11. |
| TAXONOMIC STATUS: Valid (Eschmeyer and Fricke, 2011). |
| RANGE ECUADOR: Guayas River Drainage (Glodek, 1978; Ferraris, 2007; Laaz & Torres, 2010); Esmeraldas River (Barriga, 1994). |
| RANGE OUTSIDE OF ECUADOR: None. |
| COLLECTIONS IN ECUADOR: |
| MAXIMUM SIZE: 10.5 cm (Isbrücker, 1980). |
| DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Ancistrus clementinae differs from other species of loricariids by the following characters: presence of tentacles on the top of the snout in males, very slightly developed in females; sides of body without distinct bony keels (Glodek, 1978). |
| ECOLOGY: Ancistrus clementinae known in Ecuador as the “guacuco” is a medium-sized, ecologically important, detritivorous fish (Barriga, 1994). Males defend nests in cavities where females lay large clumps of eggs. Males defend young after hatching and until they have pigment and have absorbed their yolk sacs (Burgess, 1989). Several clutches in various states of development from eggs to free-swimming larvae can be found in one nest (Sabaj et al., 1999). Sabaj et al. (1999) suggest that the tentacles may act as larval mimics and exploit a pre-existing bias in females for the presence of larvae in the nest. |
| ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: Not of direct economic importance |
| CONSERVATION STATUS: NA, although the species is not heavily exploited as a food fish. |
| LINK TO FISHBASE PAGE: Click here for link |
| SPECIES PROFILE CREATED BY: Enrique Laaz |
| SPECIES PROFILE CONTRIBUTORS: Fredy Nugra, Windsor Aguirre |
