Creagrutus kunturus

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Creagrutus kunturus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Stevardiidae
Genus: Creagrutus
Species:
C. kunturus
Binomial name
Creagrutus kunturus
Vari, Harold & Ortega, 1995

Creagrutus kunturus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a characin, belonging to the family Stevardiidae. [1]

Contents

Location

It is native to South America, occurring in the upper Marañón River of northeastern Peru, as well as in the upper Pastaza River and the southwestern portion of the Napo River in southeastern Ecuador. The Marañón is one of the principal headwaters of the Amazon, descending from the Andes and contributing vast volumes of sediment and nutrients to the basin. The Pastaza River, originating in the Ecuadorian Andes, flows through diverse ecological zones ranging from montane forests to lowland floodplains, creating a mosaic of habitats that sustain high biodiversity. The Napo River, another major tributary of the Amazon, drains extensive areas of southeastern Ecuador and northern Peru, linking Andean watersheds with the lowland Amazon system. Together, these rivers form critical corridors for aquatic dispersal and genetic exchange, supporting rich assemblages of Neotropical fishes. The species’ distribution across these interconnected basins underscores its adaptation to varied hydrological regimes and situates it within one of the most ecologically significant regions of the western Amazon.

Size

This species reaches a length of 9.6 cm (3.8 in). [2]

Etymology

The species name is a Latinization of kuntur, the Quechua word for ‘condor,’ referring to the Cordillera del Condor in Peru, the type region. [3]

References

  1. Vari, R.P., A.S. Harold and H. Ortega, 1995. Creagrutus kunturus, a new species from western Amazonian Peru and Ecuador (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 6(4):289-296.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Creagrutus kunturus". FishBase . February 2025 version.
  3. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Family STEVARDIIDAE Gill 1858 (Stevardiids)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 15 December 2025.