Fish of the family Loricariidae in their adult life stage have a pigmentation with spots similar to those of a leopard,  The flexible bony plates and ventral sucking mouth distinguish loricariids from native catfish, which have a terminal mouth and are missing bony plates and a spine . The size depends on the species;  size ranges from 14 to 50 cm and it can grow more than 35 cm in the first 2 years. Fish of the family Loricariidae are found in the demersal zone of freshwater bodies, in a pH range of 5.5–8.5 in a tropical climate with temperatures of 20°C–30°C.

Loricariidae also possess a unique jaw architecture that includes a ventral suckermouth with novel upper jaw mobility and an independently mobile, bilateral lower jaw, which results in the formation of a highly complex feeding mechanism with a mobile premaxilla, novel muscle insertions, and biomechanical linkages.

​