Taxonomy & naming
Farlowella myriodon was described in 1983 by Isbrücker, Britski, Nijssen and Ortega. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, CAS) recognises the combination Farlowella myriodon as valid, placing the species in the genus Farlowella within subfamily Loricariinae of the family Loricariidae.
Farlowella is the type-rich 'twig catfish' genus, a group of elongate, cylindrical loricariines whose extreme attenuation and cryptic colouration make them resemble waterlogged sticks. The genus name honours the American botanist William Gilson Farlow of Harvard University. The species epithet myriodon derives from Greek roots referring to a great number of teeth, in keeping with the fine, numerous dentition typical of the genus's algae-rasping habit.
The distinctions between Farlowella species rest largely on subtle features of snout proportion, plate counts and odontode arrangement, and the genus has long been regarded as taxonomically difficult.
Morphology
Farlowella myriodon reaches a maximum recorded size of about 8 in standard length. Like all members of the genus it has the characteristic twig-catfish form: an extremely elongate, rod-like body, a long attenuated snout, and a tapering caudal peduncle, the whole armoured in longitudinal rows of bony plates. Ground colour is typically brown to greyish, breaking up the fish's outline against submerged wood and leaf litter.
The ventral mouth bears the fine, numerous teeth implied by the epithet, suited to scraping algae and biofilm from hard surfaces. As in other Farlowella, the species is a facultative air-breather, able to supplement gill respiration by gulping atmospheric air — a useful adaptation in warm, sometimes oxygen-poor waters. Detailed published data on sexual dimorphism for this species specifically is sparse; in the genus broadly, breeding males develop hypertrophied odontodes along the snout and head.
Habitat
The species is known from the Aguaytía River basin within the upper Amazon River drainage in Peru. The waters are freshwater, demersal and tropical, with temperatures in the genus's typical range of roughly 75–82 °F. Twig catfishes are generally associated with submerged branches, root tangles and leaf litter in flowing water, where their cryptic form provides camouflage among the woody debris they cling to.
Beyond the basin-level locality and general thermal range, finely resolved habitat measurements (pH, hardness, depth profiles) for F. myriodon have not been published.
Feeding
Farlowella myriodon is an algae and detritus grazer, consistent with the low trophic level (around 2.4) characteristic of the genus. Using its fine ventral teeth, it rasps the film of algae, diatoms and associated micro-organisms that coats submerged wood and stones in its habitat.
No species-specific dietary study has been published. In the aquarium, twig catfishes of this type require a steady supply of algae and biofilm, supplemented with blanched vegetables and high-quality vegetable-based prepared foods; they are notoriously prone to starvation in clean, algae-poor tanks.
Mating
No mating behaviour has been documented for Farlowella myriodon specifically. In the genus generally, males establish and defend a smooth open surface — wood, stone or aquarium glass — onto which the female deposits eggs, with courtship centred on that chosen spawning site.
Breeding
Breeding has not been reported for Farlowella myriodon. Across the genus, Farlowella are open substrate-spawners with paternal care: the male guards a clutch of adhesive eggs laid on a flat surface, fanning and defending them until the fry hatch. No clutch-size or developmental data exists for this particular species.
In the aquarium
Farlowella myriodon is not a commonly traded aquarium fish, and its Critically Endangered status makes any reliance on wild collection inappropriate. Twig catfishes as a group are delicate aquarium subjects: they demand pristine, well-oxygenated water, a mature tank with abundant natural algae and biofilm, gentle to moderate current, and driftwood furnishings. They are peaceful and easily out-competed for food, so vigorous tankmates are a poor match.
Given the absence of established captive populations and the species' conservation profile, F. myriodon is best regarded as a fish of scientific and conservation interest rather than a hobby candidate.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Farlowella myriodon as Critically Endangered (criterion B2ab(iii)) on 23 April 2014. This is among the most severe categories on the Red List, and it reflects an extremely restricted area of occupancy confined to the Aguaytía River basin, combined with a continuing decline in the extent and quality of that habitat.
The Aguaytía basin lies in a region of central Peru exposed to deforestation, agricultural expansion and associated sedimentation and water-quality degradation — pressures that bear directly on a species dependent on clean, structured, flowing-water habitat. With its known range so narrow, F. myriodon has little buffer against localised habitat loss, and the Critically Endangered listing signals a real risk of extinction in the wild absent effective protection of its basin. CITES has not evaluated the species.