Smallscale Wolffish

Hoplias microlepis as a member of the H. malabaricus group, differs from species in the H. macropthalmus and H. lacerdae groups by having dentary bones which abruptly converge towards the symphysis of the mandibles and by having tooth plates on tongue. The other species groups have dentary bones which are parallel and only gently converge as they approach the symphysis of the mandibles and do not have tooth plates on tongue. It can be told apart from the other members of the H. malabaricus species group by having a count of between 22 and 24 scales around the caudal peduncle while the other species in the group have between 18 and 20, typically 20. The body has an elongated shape with a maximum standard length of 36 cm (14 in).

Hoplias microlepis is found in the Pacific slope drainages of southern Central America and northwestern South America. It occurs from the Coto Brus River in Costa Rica south to the Tumbes River in Ecuador and Peru, although its presence in Colmbia is uncertain and it may be being misidentified for H. malabaricus in that country. There are records from the Atlantic slope of Panama which may represent migration along the Panama Canal. It is found in freshwater occurring in rivers and impoundments.

Hoplias microlepis is a species within the genus Hoplias, a word derived from the Greek hoplon, which means "shield" or "armour", an allusion to the armour created by the enlarged cranial bones and large teeth of these fishes. The specific name, microlepis, means "small scaled", a reference to smaller scales arranged in longitudinal series along back of this fish compared with those on Macrodon trahira and H. intermedius.