Ancistrus, also known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish, is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. The common Bristlenose is commonly captive bred appears impossible to identify to species primarily due to a lack of original locality information but also because tens of undescribed congeners exist.
Ancistrus species show all the typical features of the Loricariidae. This includes a body covered in bony plates and a ventral suckermouth. The feature most commonly associated with the genus are the fleshy tentacles found on the head in adult males; females may possess tentacles along the snout margin but they are smaller and they lack tentacles on the head. Tentacules, tentacles directly associated with odontodes, develop on the pectoral fin spine of the males of some species.
Sources: Wikipedia contributors. (2019, October 19). Ancistrus. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:58, October 19, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancistrus&oldid=921971242/nAncistrus. In Planet Catfish. Retrieved October 19, 2019, from https://www.planetcatfish.com/ancistrus_cf_cirrhosus
