Mylossoma is a genus of serrasalmids from tropical and subtropical South America, including the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and Paraguay-Paraná.[1] These common fish are found both in main river sections and floodplains.[2] They support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.[3] They primarily feed on plant material such as seeds and fruits (to a lesser extent invertebrates), and in their ecology they generally resemble the larger tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).[2] Mylossoma reach up to 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in length[1] and 1 kg (2.2 lb) in weight.[2]

Mylossoma
Mylossoma aureum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Serrasalmidae
Genus: Mylossoma
C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903
Type species
Myletes albiscopus
Cope, 1872

Species edit

There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:[4][5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). Species of Mylossoma in FishBase. January 2016 version.
  2. ^ a b c Michael Goulding (1981). The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. pp. 102–111. ISBN 978-0520041318.
  3. ^ Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. ISBN 9781552501146
  4. ^ Mateussi, N.T.B., Pavanelli, C.S. & Oliveira, C. (2016): Molecular identification of cryptic diversity in species of cis-Andean Mylossoma (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part A: DNA Mapping, Sequencing, and Analysis, 28 (5): 778-780.
  5. ^ Mateussi, Nadayca T. B. ; Claudio Oliveira; & Carla S. Pavanelli (2018). Taxonomic Revision of the Cis-Andean Species of Mylossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903 (Teleostei: Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Zootaxa 4387(2): 275–309. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4387.2.3