| Brycon Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Brycon hilarii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Bryconidae |
| Subfamily: | Bryconinae |
| Genus: | Brycon J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Brycon falcatus J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 | |
Brycon is a genus of fish in the family Bryconidae and order Characiformes found in freshwater habitats in Central and South America, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. [1] Despite not being closely related to true trout, they are sometimes called South American trout. [2] Members of the genus may be referred to by a number of other different common names in various languages. They reach a maximum length of 11.9–79.5 cm (4.7–31.3 in) depending on the species involved. [1] Some species perform seasonal breeding migrations. [3]
They feed heavily on fruits and seeds, but also take other plant material, invertebrates and small fish. [4] [5] Their food is typically taken from the water, but they are able to jump out of the water to "pluck" low-hanging seeds and fruits directly from trees. [2] Some seeds are crushed when eaten, but may also pass undamaged through the fish, making them seed dispersers. [2] [4] [5]
Brycon support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the fifth most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon. [3]
One fossil member of this genus is known in † Brycon avus (Woodward, 1898) from the Oligocene-aged Tremembé Formation of Brazil. [6] [7] A slightly older potential specimen of B. avus is also known from the Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of the Aiuruoca Basin. [8]
