Pareiorhaphis scutula Pereira, Vieira & Reis 2010

This species is distinguished from its congeners by having the following combination of characters: abdomen entirely covered with small platelets imbedded in skin and irregularly scattered from pectoral girdle to pelvic-fin insertions (vs. abdomen totally naked or with 1-4 small platelets on each side just posterior to gill opening in P. parmula and P. nasuta ); it is distinguished further from P. parmula by having 51-71 premaxillary teeth (vs. 31-48), 24-28 lateral plates in the median series (vs. 28-31), longer snout length (62.1-70.0 vs. 53.8-63.0% HL); from P. nasuta by having a shorter snout length 62.1-70.0 (vs. 71.1-75.6% HL) and a larger orbital diameter 11.9-14.8 (vs. 8.6-11.3% HL) (Ref. 84022).

The area where most of the specimens were collected is a shallow creek (0.2-0.5 m depth and approximately 5 m wide) with rocky bottom, swift current, and clear water; most of the creek banks are deforested and covered with grasses. Other fish species collected syntopically were Trichomycterus sp., Geophagus brasiliensis, Neoplecostomus sp., and Astyanax sp. (Ref. 84021).

Pareiorhaphis scutula is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it is known only from Brazil, with its type locality being listed as the Piracicaba River basin in the state of Minas Gerais. The environment in which most specimens of the species have been collected is a shallow creek 20 to 50 cm (7.9 to 19.7 inches) deep and approximately 5 m (16 ft) wide with a swift current, clear water, a rocky substrate, and banks covered in grass. It is known to occur alongside the species Geophagus brasiliensis, as well as members of the genera Astyanax, Neoplecostomus, and Trichomycterus. The species reaches 9.1 cm (3.6 inches) in standard length and is believed to be a facultative air-breather.