Lyre-tail Pleco

Lyre-tail Pleco

Offered for sale is an original antique 4” by 6” hand-colored lithograph from Fishes of British Guiana edited by William Jardine and published between 1841 and 1843.  The print comes matted and mounted in acid free archival materials.

The common name of Acanthicus hystrix (often mistakenly rendered as "Histrix") is lyre-tail pleco. This name is widely recognized in both the scientific literature and the aquarium trade to refer to this distinctive armored catfish species native to South American river basins

The specific artist credited with illustrating Fishes of British Guiana was Edward Angelo Goodall. In 1841, Goodall was appointed by the British government as the official artist for the Guyana (then British Guiana) Boundary Expedition under Sir Robert Schomburgk. During that expedition, he produced a wealth of watercolours and sketches documenting the region’s natural environment, including its vibrant aquatic life. These detailed images later formed a crucial part of the work edited by Sir William Jardine, helping to bring the ichthyological diversity of British Guiana to a wider audience.