This species does not have a unique distinctive character for accurate identification, between its congeners it differs from Cordylancistrus torbesensis by an absence of plates on the ventral border of the snout (vs. ventral border of the snout covered with plates), and by the longest movable odontodes not reaching the pectoral-fin origin (vs. longest movable odontodes extending beyond the pectoral-fin origin); differs from C. platyrhynchus by having developed and evident evertibles cheek odontodes (vs. odontodes vestigial or almost imperceptible); differs from C. daguae by having the adpressed dorsal fin not reaching adipose-fin origin (vs. adpressed dorsal fin reaching adipose-fin origin), and by having a greater postdorsal length (26.8%-31.2% SL vs. 34.6%-39.8% SL); differs from C. nephelion and C. perijae by having a different color pattern: C. pijao has the dorsal and lateral sections of head and body light brown or beige with rounded or elongated dark (black) blotches, sometimes faded or barely visible, without a definite pattern while C. nephelion has the dorsal and lateral sections of the head and body blackish to greenish brown with numerous white irregular spots and C. perijae has the dorsal surface of head and body uniformly brown; differs Andeancistrus platycephalus by the absence of spiny keels on the lateral plates of the body (vs. lateral plates with spiny keels); diffes from A. eschwartzae by the snout covered with bony plates, except at the tip (vs. snout completely covered with plates), by a longer posterior body region, narrower body, and shorter dentary (postdorsal length 34.6%-39.8% SL vs. 31.3%-34.9% SL; cleithral width 30.3%-37.7% SL vs. 37.4%-40.8% SL, dentary length 8.4%-10.2% SL vs. 11.6%-12.8% SL); differs from Transancistrus santarosensis

and T. aequinoctiale by the snout covered with bony plates, except at the tip (vs. lateral edges and partial dorsal region of the snout naked) (Ref. 117343).