Bryconops humeralis

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Bryconops humeralis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Iguanodectidae
Genus: Bryconops
Species:
B. humeralis
Binomial name
Bryconops humeralis

Bryconops humeralis is a small freshwater fish distributed across northern South America. The name "humeralis" means "relating to the shoulder" (to the humerus), in reference to the distinct humeral patches that the fish sports. It is slightly longer than average in terms of the genus Bryconops , though still firmly within the standard range, and is slightly more slender than is usual for its congeners.

Contents

Along with Bryconops vibex , B. humeralis was described by Barry Chernoff & Antonio Machado-Allison in 1996 from the Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela. It is known to be an invertivore - that is, primarily consuming invertebrates (largely insects).

Description

Bryconops humeralis reaches a maximum of roughly 8.6 cm (3.4 in) in standard length, [1] though averages closer to 7.5 cm (3.0 in). [2] In comparison to other members of Bryconops, it is close to the middle of the size range, if slightly above in larger specimens. [3] Its body is on the shallow side, which can help differentiate it from several of its congeners. [4] Its scales are largely silvery in color, its fins are dark-tinted but translucent, and the dorsal half of its caudal fin sports an orange or yellowish ocellus (eyespot). [5]

The specific epithet originates from the presence of a distinct humeral patch near each of B. humeralis's pectoral fins, which are its main distinguishing trait. [6] This is a marking it shares with a few of its congeners, but other features can be used to tell them apart; for instance, B. inpai and B. munduruku have a pair of humeral marks by each fin as opposed to just one in B. humeralis. [7] B. vibex and B. marabaixo have single humeral patches (as opposed to paired), but other features distinguish them from B. humeralis, such as number of scales beneath the lateral line (B. humeralis has fewer than B. vibex) [5] and body shape (B. marabaixo has a deeper body than B. humeralis, more reminiscent of B. inpai). [4]

Classification

Bryconops humeralis has retained its designation as a member of Bryconops since its description in 1996. [8] The genus Bryconops has two subgenera, Bryconops and Creatochanes, and B. humeralis is considered a member of Creatochanes, which makes its full name Bryconops (Creatochanes) humeralis. [7] This sub-classification is based on the fact that it has at least one maxillary tooth on both sides of the mouth, which is the main characterizing facet of Creatochanes. [9]

Bryconops and its sister genera Piabucus and Iguanodectes are considered members of the relatively recent family Iguanodectidae, which was named in research by Oliveria et al. (2011). [10] As a result, some resources (such as ITIS and ADW) [11] [12] still list B. humeralis as a member of the family Characidae, which is where Bryconops was previously classified. Nonetheless, its modern placement is with the rest of Bryconops (under Iguanodectidae). [13] [14]

Distribution and ecology

Like other members of its genus, B. humeralis is found solely in northern South America. It was first recognized from the Orinoco Basin in Venezuela, and its range has since been established as encompassing the Orinoco, Negro, and Casiquiare rivers. [1] [8] Its affinity for blackwater habitats, such as the Rio Negro, indicates that it does not have high-oxygen needs; this is because blackwater habitats are low in oxygen, as microbes consume all available dissolved oxygen in the water. [15] (Microbial decay is responsible for blackwater conditions; the breakdown of organic material releases trapped tannins into the environment.) [16]

Though extensive research has not been performed on B. humeralis's diet, it is known to prey on invertebrates. This is a similarity it shares with most other species of Bryconops (though some are documented herbivores). [2]

Bryconops humeralis has not been evaluated by the IUCN. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Bryconops</i> Genus of fishes

Bryconops is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Iguanodectidae from South America. It consists of small fish, all under half-a-foot long, with slender bodies and silvery scales, though there is some mild color variation. Several species can be identified by way of a humeral patch, and others have a reddish ocellus, or eyespot, on one or both lobes of the dorsal fin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iguanodectidae</span> Family of fish

Iguanodectidae is a family of freshwater fish in the order Characiformes that lives in South America. It is home to the subfamily Iguanodectinae and the monotypic Bryconops clade. Several species in the family, such as the green line lizard tetra, the tailspot tetra, and the orangefin tetra, are sometimes taken as aquarium fish.

<i>Bryconops alburnoides</i> Species of fish

Bryconops alburnoides is a small freshwater fish, approximately 6 inches long at its largest, that lives in the rivers of South America. It has a slender body, with a yellowish dorsal fin and yellow-tinged back scales that fade into silver on its belly. It is largely an insectivore that picks land-dwelling insects from the riverbanks, though it eats much more whenever rain washes prey into the water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tailspot tetra</span> Species of fish

The tailspot tetra is a freshwater fish that lives in the coastal river regions of upper South America. Both its common and scientific names reference the distinct spot of color present on the tail fin, which is one of its defining characteristics. It is a small fish, reaching 4.8 in at its longest. Despite its small size, it is an active swimmer, with a preference for fast-flowing waters.

Bryconops colanegra is a small, slender-bodied species of freshwater fish from South America, about 3.5 in long. It has a black tail fin that bears hints of red, and its scales are dark along the back, transitioning to a silver belly. It is endemic to a single river system in Venezuela, the Rio Caroní.

<i>Bryconops colaroja</i> Species of fish

Bryconops colaroja is a small species of fish endemic to tributaries and creeks of the Cuyuni River basin in Venezuela. The specific epithet "colaroja" means "red tailed", and it gets this name from its most distinctive feature - a deep red caudal fin, largely unique amongst members of its genus.

<i>Bryconops collettei</i> Species of fish

Bryconops collettei is a small freshwater fish from the rivers of South America. It is mostly silvery, with notable green iridescence on its sides, and a diffuse ocellus (eyespot) on the upper lobe of the caudal fin. Before its distinction as a separate species, specimens of B. collettei were misidentified as specimens of Bryconops caudomaculatus due to several morphological similarities, including a caudal ocellus and generally similar fin coloration.

<i>Bryconops cyrtogaster</i> Species of fish

Bryconops cyrtogaster is a midsize species of freshwater fish found in the Oyapock river in French Guiana and Brazil. It is overall silver, with an indistinct dark patch at the base of the tail fin that spreads onto the fin rays slightly. Originally described in 1926 under a different baisonym, it was the subject of a redescription in June 2020.

Bryconops disruptus is a small freshwater fish of the family Iguanodectidae. It is only found in the Rio Negro in South America. Like the rest of the genus Bryconops, B. disruptus is silvery in color, with a relatively deep chest and a notable set of teeth. The specific epithet "disruptus" refers to the incomplete lateral line.

Bryconops durbinae, sometimes listed under the name Bryconops durbini, is a small species of freshwater fish in the family Iguanodectidae. It is the smallest species of the genus Bryconops, and is endemic to the Tapajós river basin in Brazil.

<i>Bryconops giacopinii</i> Species of fish

Bryconops giacopinii is a mid-sized species of freshwater fish in the family Iguanodectidae. It is the largest member of the genus Bryconops, and is therefore difficult to confuse with any of its congeners. With a diet that consists largely of land-dwelling insects, it serves as an important link between the terrestrial and aquatic aspects of its native range.

Bryconops inpai is a small freshwater fish native to the rivers of South America. It only lives in two particular river systems - the Casiquiare and Negro - which means that its range is restricted to the northern half of the continent. It has indistinct humeral spots, and is bluish-silver in life, which is unusual for members of Bryconops; they are more often plain silver or greenish-silver.

<i>Bryconops magoi</i> Species of fish

Bryconops magoi is a small species of fish from South America. It is only found in Venezuela, along with sister species Bryconops collettei. Its tail-fin markings help to differentiate it from various congeners, as does its fairly restricted range. It is most closely related to B. collettei and Bryconops caudomaculatus, and it was once considered synonymous with the latter; specimens of B. magoi and B. collettei both were routinely misidentified as B. caudomaculatus before being given species distinction.

<i>Bryconops melanurus</i> Species of fish

Bryconops melanurus, sometimes called the tail-light tetra, is a small species of freshwater fish from South America that primarily preys on insects. It lives in small schools and is an active swimmer, which means that it requires open space in its habitat. Nonetheless, it does not demonstrate a strong preference for any one biotope within its native range.

Bryconops munduruku is a small freshwater fish of the family Iguanodectidae that lives in the rivers of South America. Its adipose fin is black, with a clear base, and it has two humeral spots, which is a feature it shares with few congeners. Its fins are a variety of yellow, red, black, and clear, and mature males have hooks on select fin-rays.

<i>Bryconops tocantinensis</i> Species of fish

Bryconops tocantinensis is a small freshwater fish from the rivers of Brazil. It has yellow-gold scales on its back and white scales on its belly, with a bright-silver stripe marking the divide between the two. It gets the name "tocantinensis" from its endemism to the upper Tocantins basin drainage - specifically, the Conceição River.

Bryconops vibex is a small freshwater fish from the rivers of Venezuela, known solely from the Rio Cataniapo. The body is slender, though with an element of sturdiness, and it has one humeral spot by each pectoral fin. It bears visual similarities to several congeners, but can be differentiated by way of many factors.

Bryconops allisoni is a species of freshwater fish known from the rivers of Brazil. It is a recent addition to the genus (2019), currently considered a member incertae sedis. Its name honors Antonio Machado-Allison, an ichthyologist responsible for a great deal of work on the genus Bryconops.

<i>Bryconops florenceae</i> Species of fish

Bryconops florenceae is a small freshwater fish that inhabits the rivers of South America. Comprehensive research is lacking due to B. florenceae being the most recently described of the genus, but researchers believe it to be a relatively widespread species. It is found throughout the Maroni, Mana, and Sinnamary river basins, which defines its range within Suriname and French Guiana.

Bryconops marabaixo is a small freshwater fish from the lower Amazon basin, native to the Rio Jari. It is small and silvery, with a dark-gray back, and its fins are mostly clear, though the caudal fin has a dark stripe on the lower margin of the dorsal lobe, and a spot of red pigment just above that. Like many other members of Bryconops, it has a humeral spot, which is a mark near each pectoral fin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Bryconops humeralis" in FishBase . October 2022 version.
  2. 1 2 Echevarría, Gabriela; González, Nirson (November 2018). "Fish taxonomic and functional diversity in mesohabitats of the River Kakada, Caura National Park, Venezuela". Nature Conservation Research. 3 (Suppl. 2). doi: 10.24189/ncr.2018.048 . Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Bryconops in FishBase . October 2022 version.
  4. 1 2 Silva‐Oliveira, Cárlison; Moreira, Cristiano R.; Lima, Flávio C. T.; Py‐Daniel, Lúcia Rapp (September 2020). "The true identity of Bryconops cyrtogaster ( Norman ), and description of a new species of Bryconops Kner ( Characiformes: Iguanodectidae ) from the Rio Jari , lower Amazon basin". Journal of Fish Biology. 97 (3): 860–868. doi:10.1111/jfb.14445. PMID   32584438. S2CID   220060299 . Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Chernoff, Barry; Machado-Allison, Antonio (31 December 2005). "Bryconops". doi:10.5281/zenodo.6265593.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ Scharpf, Christopher; Lazara, Kenneth J. (15 September 2020). "Order CHARACIFORMES: Families IGUANODECTIDAE, TRIPORTHEIDAE, BRYCONIDAE, CHALCEIDAE and GASTEROPELECIDAE". The ETYFish Project. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 Silva-Oliveira, Cárlison; Canto, André Luiz C.; Ribeiro, Frank Raynner V. (30 July 2015). "Bryconops munduruku (Characiformes: Characidae), a new species of fish from the lower Tapajós River basin, Brazil". Zootaxa. 3994 (1): 133–141. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3994.1.7. PMID   26250264 – via Biotaxa.
  8. 1 2 Machado Allison, Antonio; Chernoff, Barry; Buckup, Paulo (1996). "Bryconops humeralis y B.vibex, dos nuevas especies del genero bryconops kner (1858) para Venezuela". Acta Biologica Venezuela (in Spanish). 16 (2): 45–58. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Chernoff, Barry; Machado-Allison, Antonio (13 December 2005). "Bryconops magoi and Bryconops collettei (Characiformes: Characidae), two new freshwater fish species from Venezuela, with comments on B. caudomaculatus (Günther)". Zootaxa. 1094 (1): 1. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1094.1.1 . Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Oliveira, Claudio; Avelino, Gleisy S.; Abe, Kelly T.; Mariguela, Tatiane C.; Benine, Ricardo C.; Ortí, Guillermo; Vari, Richard P.; Corrêa e Castro, Ricardo M. (December 2011). "Phylogenetic relationships within the speciose family Characidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) based on multilocus analysis and extensive ingroup sampling". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (1): 275. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-275 . PMC   3190395 . PMID   21943181.
  11. ↑ "Bryconops humeralis Machado-Allison, Chernoff and Buckup, 1996". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  12. ↑ Myers, P.; Espinosa, R.; Parr, C. S.; Jones, T.; Hammond, G. S.; Dewey, T. A. "Bryconops humeralis Classification". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Rees, Tony (31 December 2011). "IRMNG - Bryconops humeralis Machado-Allison, Chernoff & Buckup, 1996". International Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  14. ↑ Bailly, Nicolas (6 July 2017). "WoRMS taxon details - Bryconops humeralis Machado-Allison, Chernoff & Buckup, 1996". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Mehring, Andrew S.; Kuehn, Kevin A.; Tant, Cynthia J.; Pringle, Catherine M.; Lowrance, R. Richard; Vellidis, George (2014). "Contribution of surface leaf-litter breakdown and forest composition to benthic oxygen demand and ecosystem respiration in a South Georgia blackwater river". Freshwater Science. 33 (2): 377–389. doi: 10.1086/675507 . S2CID   85315129 . Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Hypoxic blackwater events and water quality". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Australian Government. 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
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