Corydoras lymnades is native to the upper and middle rio Sao Francisco basin in southern Brazil and is named for the Lymnades, small creatures derived from Goblins in Greek mythology.

These small creatures were supposedly able to take on the form of the beloved of unwary men that tried to get close to nymphs, which the Lymnades had the task of protecting, and this name was chosen due to thew new species’ small size and resemblance to the related Corydoras garbei.

It can be told apart from other congeners by a series of morphological characters and Corydoras garbei by its smaller, more slender body and colour pattern comprising small rounded or striated blotches scattered over the dorsal surface and oblong-shaped blotches  at the junction of the lateral body plates.