Porotergus is a genus of ghost knifefishes found in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in tropical South America. They are found over sandy bottoms in shallow (P. gymnotus) or deep rivers (two remaining).[1] They feed on small aquatic insect larvae. They have a stubby snout and are fairly small knifefish, with the largest species reaching up to 27 cm (11 in) in total length.[1]
| Porotergus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gymnotiformes |
| Family: | Apteronotidae |
| Genus: | Porotergus M. M. Ellis in C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 |
Species edit
There are currently three described species in this genus:[2]
- Porotergus duende de Santana & Crampton, 2010
- Porotergus gimbeli M. M. Ellis, 1912, named for Jacob Gimbel, who financed the expedition on which it was discovered.
- Porotergus gymnotus M. M. Ellis, 1912
UCLA flag pole edit
The base of UCLA's central flag pole, a gift to the university from Jacob Gimbel, features a brass plaque depicting P. gimbeli.
References edit
- ^ a b David de Santana, C.; W.G.R. Crampton (2010). "A Review of the South American Electric Fish Genus Porotergus (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) with the Description of a New Species". Copeia. 2010 (1): 165–175. doi:10.1643/ci-05-136. S2CID 83780152.
- ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Porotergus in FishBase. October 2017 version.
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