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Triportheus

Triportheus is a genus of characiform fishes from South America, including Trinidad, ranging from the Rio de la Plata basin to the basins of the Orinoco and Magdalena.[1][2] Some are migratory.[1]

Triportheus
Armbrustsalmler (Triportheus angulatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Triportheidae
Genus: Triportheus
Cope, 1872
Type species
Triportheus albus
Cope, 1872

The largest species is up to 36 cm (14 in) in standard length, but most reach up to about 2⁄3 of that size or less.[2] They somewhat resemble larger, more elongated hatchetfish, including a keeled chest and large pectoral fins.[1] This leads to the common names narrow hatchetfish and elongate hatchetfish, the latter also used more specifically for T. elongatus. Their shape is an adaption for living near the water surface where they find most of their food such as fruits, seeds, leaves, flowers, other plant material, invertebrates (insects, spiders and alike) and occasionally small fish.[1] Seeds eaten by Triportheus are sometimes crushed, but may also pass undamaged through the fish, making them potential seed dispersers.[1]

Species edit

There are currently 18 recognized species in this genus:[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Goulding, M (1980). The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. University of California Press. pp. 131–152. ISBN 0-520-04131-3.
  2. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Triportheus in FishBase. October 2017 version.


 

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