Corydoras Identification Guide
An attempt to help identifying the different Corys you might find in your local fish shop. Only sa small part of all species added yet. More coming every week.
The name for the group is what I consider the most common species in the group or the first described species in the group.
adolfoi Group
Species from the upper Rio Nero with a orange-red marking above and behind the eyes.
- Corydoras adolfoi – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Burgess (1982)
- Corydoras nijsseni – Lineage 5 - elegans-type (ln5) – Sands (1989)
aeneus Group
A loosely held together group of species that resembles the “normal” Corydoras aeneus.
- Corydoras aeneus – Lineage 7 - aeneus-type (ln7) – Gill (1858)
araguaiaensis Group
Silvery grey bodys with small to medium black spots. All? coming from the Rio Araguaia in Brazil?
- Corydoras albolineatus – Lineage 6 - "Regular" (ln6) – Knaack (2004)
- Corydoras araguaiaensis – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Sands (1990)
- Corydoras eversi – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Tencatt & Britto (2016)
barbatus Group
bondi Group
Silvery-grey body with, usually, a spot at the the caudal peduncle that spread longer och shorter towards the gill cover.
- Corydoras sipaliwini – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Hoedeman (1965)
evelynae Group
Many similar looking species belong to this sought after group.
gossei Group
Two species in this group with the round-nosed Corydoras gossei (Lineage 9) and the long-nosed (Linages 8, Sub-clade 4) Corydoras seussi.
- Corydoras gossei – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Nijssen (1972)
- Corydoras seussi – Lineage 8 (ln8) - Sub-clade 4 (ln8sc4) – Dinkelmeyer (1996)
loxozonus Group
Common for this group is a sand-colored base with one or several black stripes from the caudal peduncle towards the head.
- Corydoras loxozonus – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Nijssen & Isbrücker (1983)
melanistius Group
- Corydoras brevirostris – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Fraser-Brunner (1947)
- Corydoras melanistius – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Regan (1912)
napoensis Group
- Corydoras napoensis – Lineage 5 - elegans-type (ln5) – Nijssen & Isbrücker (1986)
oiapoquensis Group
Two species in this group with sand coloured bodies, black mask, black patch in dorsal fin, and bold vertical stripes in the tail.
One, the short nosed C. oiapoquensis, belongs to Lineage 9, and C. condiscipulus with a semi long nose belongs to Lineage 4 sub-clade 4.
- Corydoras condiscipulus – Lineage 8 (ln8) - Sub-clade 4 (ln8sc4), Lineage 8 - Intermediate long-snouts (ln8) – Burgess (1992)
- Corydoras oiapoquensis – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Nijssen (1972)
paleatus Group
- Corydoras ehrhardti – Lineage 6 - "Regular" (ln6) – Steindachner (1910)
panda Group
- Corydoras panda – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Nijssen & Isbrücker (1971)
parallelus group
- Corydoras parallelus – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Burgess (1993)
similis Group
- Corydoras similis – Lineage 9 - Short-snouted (ln9) – Hieronimus (1991)