Taxonomy & naming
Lebiasina chocoensis was described by Ardila Rodríguez in 2010, based on specimens collected from the Chocó region of Colombia — the low-lying, heavily forested Pacific coastal plain that drains westward into the Pacific Ocean. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke, Eschmeyer & Fong) is the authority for the valid name, which stands as Lebiasina chocoensis Ardila Rodríguez, 2010.
The genus Lebiasina belongs to the family Lebiasinidae within the order Characiformes. Lebiasinids are a strictly Neotropical group distributed across much of tropical South and Central America, and Lebiasina is the most species-rich genus in the family, with representatives scattered across Amazonian, Orinoquian, and Pacific-slope drainages. The Chocó biogeographic region has long been recognised as a centre of endemism for freshwater fishes, and several Lebiasina species are endemic to its river systems.
The specific epithet chocoensis refers directly to the Chocó department and biogeographic region of Colombia, indicating where the type material was collected.
Morphology
Lebiasina chocoensis shares the general body plan of the genus: a moderately elongate, cylindrical to slightly compressed form, a rounded snout, a small terminal mouth, and relatively large scales for a characiform of its size. The genus lacks an adipose fin — unusual among characiforms — and the caudal fin is rounded to slightly forked.
Detailed morphological data for L. chocoensis specifically are sparse in readily accessible sources, and precise maximum size figures are not confirmed here. Members of the genus Lebiasina in similar Pacific-slope drainages typically reach 2.5–4.5 in total length, with sexual dimorphism generally modest externally. Coloration in the genus runs to brownish or olivaceous flanks with a dark lateral stripe or series of blotches, often with some reddish suffusion in breeding condition; the exact pattern of L. chocoensis is not confirmed in available sources.
Habitat
Lebiasina chocoensis is a Pacific-slope species from the Colombian Chocó, one of the wettest regions on Earth. The Chocó drains directly into the Pacific via a series of short, swift rivers and their tributaries, running through dense tropical rainforest at low elevations. Streams here are typically soft, slightly acidic to near-neutral, warm, and stained by leaf litter and organic matter, though exact water chemistry data for L. chocoensis localities are not available in the sources accessed for this article.
Other Lebiasina species in comparable habitats inhabit the margins of small streams, shallow backwaters, and flooded areas, typically among leaf litter, root masses, and dense riparian vegetation — microhabitats that offer cover and rich invertebrate food. The Chocó's extreme rainfall and the seasonal pulse of its rivers expose inhabitants to fluctuating water levels.
Feeding
Lebiasina species are generally regarded as opportunistic carnivore-omnivores, foraging at or near the surface and in the water column for small invertebrates, insect larvae, and other prey. No published dietary study specific to L. chocoensis is available in the sources accessed, and the feeding ecology of this species is extrapolated from genus-level and family-level data.
In an aquarium context, similarly sized Lebiasina relatives accept live and frozen small invertebrates, quality flake, and small pellets without difficulty.
Mating
No published account of mating behaviour specific to Lebiasina chocoensis is available. Within the genus and family Lebiasinidae, reproductive strategies vary: some lebiasinids (particularly in related genera such as Nannostomus) are egg-scatterers, while others show adhesive egg-laying among plants or leaf litter with limited or no parental care. Data for L. chocoensis specifically are not confirmed in the sources accessed for this article.
Males in the Lebiasina genus typically show intensified coloration during spawning condition; sexual dimorphism is generally subtle outside of breeding activity.
Breeding
Breeding in captivity has not been documented in accessible hobby or scientific literature for Lebiasina chocoensis. Based on the broader Lebiasinidae pattern, eggs are likely adhesive, deposited among vegetation or substrate, with limited or absent parental care, and incubation at ambient tropical temperatures.
Given the species' restricted known range and the general rarity of Pacific-slope Lebiasina in the ornamental trade, captive-bred stock is essentially unavailable and husbandry data are essentially nil.
In the aquarium
Lebiasina chocoensis is not established in the aquarium hobby. No husbandry accounts are available in accessible hobby literature, and it is not known in commercial trade. Like other Pacific-slope Lebiasina, it would presumably do best in a biotope-style setup reflecting Chocó stream conditions: warm water, soft to moderately hard, neutral to slightly acidic, with leaf litter, root cover, and subdued lighting.
The general care requirements of the genus suggest a peaceful to moderately assertive small characid that could be kept in a species tank or with similarly sized, non-aggressive companions. In the absence of firsthand husbandry data, care details are speculative and should be treated accordingly.
Conservation
Lebiasina chocoensis has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List; it is classified as Not Evaluated (NE). The species was described in 2010 and the Chocó region more broadly is subject to significant and escalating deforestation, mining activity, and agricultural encroachment, all of which degrade freshwater habitats.
The Chocó is one of the highest-priority conservation regions in the Neotropics owing to its extraordinary endemism across both terrestrial and aquatic taxa, yet its freshwater fish fauna remains incompletely inventoried. Without a formal assessment, the conservation status of L. chocoensis is unknown, but any endemic species confined to a portion of a heavily threatened biogeographic region merits precautionary attention.