Taxonomy & naming
Delturus brevis was described by Reis and Pereira in 2006, within the paper Reis, Pereira & Armbruster (2006), 'Delturinae, a new loricariid catfish subfamily, with revisions of Delturus and Hemipsilichthys' (Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 147(2): 277–299). That work simultaneously named the species and erected the subfamily Delturinae to accommodate Delturus and its relatives, separating them from the larger groupings within Loricariidae. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, CAS) recognises Delturus brevis as valid.
The genus name Delturus derives from the Greek deltos, a small writing board, combined with oura, tail — a reference to the form of the caudal region. The species epithet brevis is Latin for 'short'. Delturinae is one of the smaller and more geographically restricted subfamilies of the suckermouth armoured catfishes, associated with the coastal river basins of southeastern Brazil.
Morphology
Delturus brevis reaches a maximum recorded length of about 7.5 in standard length (SL). As with all loricariids, the body is encased in overlapping bony plates and bears the ventral, suckermouth typical of the family. Beyond these family-level features and its overall size, detailed morphological notes suitable for a general profile have not been compiled here; the defining diagnostic characters are set out in the 2006 description that established the genus revision and the subfamily.
No information on live coloration, sexual dimorphism, or size differences between the sexes has been published in the sources consulted.
Habitat
Delturus brevis is endemic to the Rio Jequitinhonha basin of eastern Brazil. All known specimens were collected in strong water current over a rocky bottom, marking the species as a rheophilic, riffle-dwelling catfish adapted to fast-flowing, well-oxygenated stretches of river. It is a demersal, tropical freshwater fish that lives in close association with the rocky substrate.
Specific data on water temperature, pH, hardness, or depth at the collection sites has not been published in the sources consulted.
Feeding
No detailed diet study for Delturus brevis has been published in the sources consulted. Loricariids of rocky, fast-flowing habitats are typically grazers that rasp biofilm, algae, and associated invertebrates from rock surfaces, but the specific feeding ecology of this species has not been documented and is not asserted here.
Mating
No information on the courtship or mating behaviour of Delturus brevis has been published in the sources consulted.
Breeding
No breeding observations for Delturus brevis — whether in the wild or in captivity — have been published in the sources consulted. Reproductive mode, clutch size, and parental care are unknown.
In the aquarium
Delturus brevis is not a species of the ornamental trade in any meaningful way, and no husbandry data has been published in the sources consulted. Its rheophilic ecology implies it would require strongly oxygenated, fast-flowing, cool-to-warm water over rock if ever maintained, but no aquarium keeping or breeding accounts exist to draw on, and none should be inferred as established practice.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Delturus brevis as Least Concern, with the assessment dated 7 November 2018 (Red List version 2025-2). As a riffle-specialist endemic to a single coastal basin, the species is potentially sensitive to changes in river hydrology, damming, and water quality within the Rio Jequitinhonha, though the current assessment does not flag it as threatened.