Sailfin pleco
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The sailfin pleco has a large dorsal fin shaped like a boat’s sail.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Sailfin pleco
- Scientific name
- Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps
- Japanese name
- セルフィンプレコ
- Group
- Freshwater animals
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Loricariidae
- Genus
- Pterygoplichthys
It is also listed under the scientific name Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps.
Round dark brown spots make a beautiful pattern on every fin and all over its body.
How the Sailfin pleco lives
It lives in rivers with relatively fast currents. It uses its sucker-like mouth to anchor its body to driftwood or rocks. While attached to rocks and similar surfaces, it eats algae growing there with its mouth.
北の大地の水族館Basic data
- Range
- The Negro River
Where the Sailfin pleco has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- セルフィンプレコ
- 简体中文
- 隆头翼甲鲶
- 繁體中文
- 隆頭翼甲鯰
- Español
- Cucha mariposa
- Deutsch
- Waben-Schilderwels
- Português (Brasil)
- Bode cacunda
- Русский
- Парчовый птеригоплихт
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — セルフィンプレコChecked: 2026-11-04
- 北の大地の水族館 — 存在感あふれる口Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeRELATIVES
Others in Loricariidae
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