absence of plates (external flattened armoured structures) on the ventral region
absence of plates on the edge of the catfish snout
presence of interopercular odontodes (barbs behind the gill covers), a characteristic shared with another species - C. platyrhynchus
absence of fleshy tentacles on the snout, differentiating this genus from Ancistrus spp.
C. microps has a few sexually dimorphic characteristics, namely the head of females is smaller and narrower than that of males, while broader ventrally; in addition, the pelvic fins of the male are much larger, evidently so that, when inverted over a cluster of fish-eggs, they can protect sperm from being carried away in the current and thus aid fertilisation.[2] The fish is Шаблон:Convert long.[3]
Natural history
C. microps, which has previously been recorded in rivers originating from the Andes mountains, clings to rocks. The fish are primarily algae-feeders.[4]
Recently, the fish was recorded underground from limestone caves containing streams, near Tena, Napo Province, Ecuador. The fish was observed and filmed climbing the cave wall reaching up to Шаблон:Convert above the water level.[5]
C. microps is unique in that this fish can "shimmy up cave walls where water streamed down from tiny underground tributaries".[5] The fish is able to crawl up walls, having an angle of up to 75°, where a thin film of flowing water occurs, with the help of morphological modifications to the mouth, fins and skin.[5] It has been surmised that this species has begun evolving for a life underground.[5]
