Paracetopsis is a genus of whale catfishes found in tropical South America.

Paracetopsis species can be distinguished from species of all other genera in the Cetopsinae by the combination of the possession of a vomerine tooth patch with two or more rows of teeth and a medial gap between the contralateral components of the tooth patch.

The head in profile is acutely triangular overall with a bluntly rounded snout.

The caudal fin is moderately to deeply forked and symmetrical with the tips of the lobes slightly rounded.

Both P. atahualpa and P. esmeraldas have a distinct patch of pigment on the operculum not present in P.