The Hypostominae are a subfamily of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. Most members are restricted to tropical and subtropical South America, but there are also several species (in genera Ancistrus, Chaetostoma, Lasiancistrus, Leptoancistrus and Hemiancistrus) in southern Central America. Hypostomus plecostomus, which is popular in the aquarium trade, has been introduced to several regions far from its native range.

Studies conducted with representatives of some genera of Hypostominae showed, within this group, the diploid number ranges from 2n = 52 to 2n = 80. However, the supposed wide karyotypic diversity the family Loricariidae or the subfamily Hypostominae would present is almost exclusively restricted to the genus Hypostomus, and the species from the other genera had a conserved diploid number.

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