Pterygoplichthys is derived from the Greek πτέρυγ- (pteryg-), meaning "wing", (hoplon) - weapon and ἰχθύς (ichthys) meaning "fish".
There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus:
- Pterygoplichthys ambrosettii (Holmberg, 1893)
- Pterygoplichthys anisitsi (Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903)
- Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus (C. Weber, 1991) (Vermiculated sailfin catfish)
- Pterygoplichthys etentaculatus (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
- Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps (Kner, 1854) (Leopard pleco)
- Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus (C. Weber, 1991)
- Pterygoplichthys lituratus (Kner, 1854)
- Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus Hancock, 1828 (Orinoco sailfin catfish)
- Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau, 1855) (Amazon sailfin catfish)
- Pterygoplichthys parnaibae (C. Weber, 1991)
- Pterygoplichthys punctatus (Kner, 1854) (Corroncho)
- Pterygoplichthys scrophus (Cope, 1874)
- Pterygoplichthys undecimalis (Steindachner, 1878)
- Pterygoplichthys weberi Armbruster & Page, 2006
- Pterygoplichthys xinguensis (C. Weber, 1991)
- Pterygoplichthys zuliaensis C. Weber, 1991
P. gibbiceps has been bred commercially in fish farms in Florida and Malaysia for the aquarium trade. P. multiradiatus and P. pardalis are both known as common plecos and are widely sold as algae eaters. However, most of them grow too large to be housed in an average home aquarium. In fact, in the wild, the Common Pleco can well exceed 2 feet in length, and, as well as growing large, they also produce a lot of waste that can pollute the water.
