It is a freshwater fish native to South America, where it occurs in the Maroni basin.

It is usually found on or near stony substrates in the main river channel at a depth of around 2 m (6.6 ft).

The species has been collected alongside multiple other loricariid species, including Hemiancistrus medians, Peckoltia otali, Pseudancistrus barbatus, Harttia guianensis, Loricaria cataphracta, and Rineloricaria stewarti.

[2] Pseudoqolus koko was originally described as a member of the genus Panaqolus (a genus which is sometimes thought to be a subgenus of Panaque) in 2012, although it was reclassified as a member of the monotypic genus Pseudoqolus by Nathan K. Lujan, Christian A. Cramer, Raphael Covain, Sonia Fisch-Muller, and Hernán López-Fernández following a 2017 molecular phylogenetic analysis.

P. koko has been stated to be morphologically, ecologically, and biogeographically distinct enough to warrant placement in this genus instead of Panaqolus.