Neoplecostomus franciscoensis is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos. This catfish is endemic to Brazil.
Taxonomy Neoplecostomus franciscoensis was first formally described in 1990 by the ichthyologist Francisco Langeani-Neto with its type locality given as a tributary stream of the Mutuca creek, side of road from Belo Horizonte to Nova Lima at kilometre 20, at about 20°60'S, 43°55'W, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes classifies the genus Neoplecostomus in the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae, the cascudinhos, within the suckermouth armored catfish family Loricariidae.
Etymology Neoplecostomus franciscoensis is classified within the genus Neoplecostomus, this name prefixes neo-, for "new" onto plecostomus, as this genus was proposed as a subgenus of Plecostomus, now known as Hypostomus and classified in the subfamily Hypostominae. The specific name, franciscoensis, has the Latin suffix -ensis which denotes a place, referring to the basin of the São Francisco River in Minas Gerais, where the type locality is located.
Description Neoplecostomus franciscoensis reaches a standard length of and has a maximum published weight of .
Distribution Neoplecostomus franciscoensis is endemic to Brazil where it occurs in the headwater streams of the Das Velhas River and Paraopeba River.
Conservation status Neoplecostomus franciscoensis is common throughout the area in which it occurs and there is no evidence of a decline in the population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified this catfish as Least Concern.
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