The name Ancistrus is derived from the Greek word agkistron, meaning hook, in reference to the interopercular odontodes that are hooked. This specific epithet literally means small frog or tadpole (ranunculus=diminutive frog or tadpole) and refers to its unusually wide head.
Mature males and sometimes females have soft tentacles (bushy fleshy growths) on the snout - this is unique to the genus Ancistrus. Although all black, this is an easily identified species of Ancistrus due to its extreme head-width.
South America: Xingú and Tocantins River basins. Amazon, Lower Amazon, Tocantins(click on these areas to find other species found there) Amazon, Lower Amazon, Xingu(click on these areas to find other species found there)
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