Freshwater hatchetfish

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Freshwater hatchetfishes
Carnegiellamarthae.jpg
Blackwinged hatchetfish
( Carnegiella marthae )
Scientific classification
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Family:
Gasteropelecidae
Genera

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The freshwater hatchetfishes are a family, Gasteropelecidae, of ray-finned fish from South and Central America. The common hatchetfish is the most popular member among fish keeping hobbyists. The family includes three genera: Carnegiella (four species), Gasteropelecus (three species), and Thoracocharax (two species).

Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as being the "walnut family".

Common hatchetfish species of fish

The common hatchetfish or river hatchetfish is a tropical fish belonging to the freshwater hatchetfish family (Gasteropelecidae). Originating in South America in the Peruvian and middle Amazon, the Guianas and Venezuela, it grows to about 2.5 inches (6.5 cm). The fish gets its name from its relatively large protruding belly which resembles a hatchet. Hatchetfish will often jump out of the water when alarmed, propelled by their large, winglike pectoral fins. They also jump to catch small aerial insects.

<i>Carnegiella</i> genus of fishes

Carnegiella is a genus of freshwater hatchetfishes found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. This genus contains some popular aquarium fishes.

Contents

Distribution and habitat

Freshwater hatchetfishes originate from Panama and South America (though they are absent from Chile). They tend to be an upper-level fish, often swimming directly below the surface of the water, biding their time patiently.

Panama Republic in Central America

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Central America, bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country's 4 million people.

South America A continent in the Western Hemisphere, and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere

South America is a continent in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, which is how it is viewed in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas. The reference to South America instead of other regions has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics.

Chile Republic in South America

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica under the Chilean Antarctic Territory.

Size

When fully grown, freshwater hatchetfish range in size from 1 inch up to 2 1/2 inches. One exception is the Giant Hatchetfish Thoracocharax securis which can grow up to 3 1/2 inches. The smallest being the Dwarf Hatchetfish Carnegiella schereri which only grows to about 1 inch. [1]

<i>Thoracocharax securis</i> species of fish

Thoracocharax securis, the giant hatchetfish, is a hatchetfish found in the Amazon River Basin. Adults will grow up to 6.8 cm in the wild and 9 cm in the aquarium. It is a rarely seen species in the aquarium hobby. It is known to glide up to 2.74 meters (9 ft) out of the water.

Carnegiella schereri, a species of hatchetfish, is native to the Amazon Basin in Peru and Brazil. It is often sold for the aquarium hobby under the name silver hatchetfish, dwarf hatchetfish, or Scherer's hatchetfish, and grows to about 2.6 centimeters.

Flight

The most obvious trait of the freshwater hatchetfish is their enormously enlarged sternal region. This is accompanied by large pectoral fins and "extraordinarily powerful" associated muscles which account for up to one-quarter of their total body weight. "Quick beats of the pectoral fins" allow hatchetfish to "lift themselves half out of the water and glide along the surface ... Some species can even leave the water for short stretches" [2] Because of this ability to fly and tendency to jump, aquaria used to keep hatchetfish should have a tightly sealed cover to prevent these fish from escaping.

Aquarium transparent tank of water for fish and water-dwelling species

An aquarium is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles such as turtles, and aquatic plants. The term "aquarium", coined by English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, combines the Latin root aqua, meaning water, with the suffix -arium, meaning "a place for relating to". The aquarium principle was fully developed in 1850 by the chemist Robert Warington, who explained that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as the numbers of animals did not grow too large. The aquarium craze was launched in early Victorian England by Gosse, who created and stocked the first public aquarium at the London Zoo in 1853, and published the first manual, The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea in 1854. An aquarium is a water-filled tank in which fish swim about. Small aquariums are kept in the home by hobbyists. There are larger public aquariums in many cities. This kind of aquarium is a building with fish and other aquatic animals in large tanks. A large aquarium may have otters, turtles, dolphins, and other sea animals. Most aquarium tanks also have plants.

Genera

The genera in this family are:

Related Research Articles

<i>Ancistrus</i> genus of fishes

Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. Sometimes, they are called bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and a few of its close relatives but is also classed and or sold as a pleco by most places.

Gar family of fishes

Gars are members of the Lepisosteiformes, an ancient holosteian order of ray-finned fish; fossils from this order are known from the Late Jurassic onwards. The family Lepisosteidae includes seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America and the Caribbean islands. Gars have elongated bodies that are heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Gars are sometimes referred to as "garpike," but are not related to pike, which are in the fish family Esocidae. All of the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar is the largest - the alligator gar often grows to a length of over 2 m (6.5 ft) and a weight of over 45 kg (100 lb), and specimens of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length have been reported. Unusually, their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, and most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air. Gar flesh is edible and the hard skin and scales of gars are used by humans, but gar eggs are highly toxic.

The swamp eels are a family (Synbranchidae) of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying themselves in the mud if the water source dries up. They have various adaptations to suit this lifestyle; they are long and slender, they lack pectoral and pelvic fins, and their dorsal and anal fins are vestigial. They lack scales and a swimbladder, and their gills open on the throat in a slit or pore. Oxygen can be absorbed through the lining of the mouth and pharynx, which is rich in blood vessels and acts as a "lung".

Stomiiformes order of fishes

Stomiiformes is an order of deep-sea ray-finned fishes of very diverse morphology. It includes, for example, dragonfishes, lightfishes, loosejaws, marine hatchetfishes and viperfishes. The order contains 4 families with more than 50 genera and at least 410 species. As usual for deep-sea fishes, there are few common names for species of the order, but the Stomiiformes as a whole are often called dragonfishes and allies or simply stomiiforms.

Marine hatchetfish subfamily of fishes

Marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes are small deep-sea mesopelagic ray-finned fish of the stomiiform subfamily Sternoptychinae. They should not be confused with the freshwater hatchetfishes, which are not particularly closely related Teleostei in the characiform family Gasteropelecidae.

The name hatchetfish may refer to three groups of fishes:

Bluegill species of fish

The bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as "bream" or "brim", "sunny", "copper nose", or incorrectly "perch". It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes. It is native to North America and lives in streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds. It is commonly found east of the Rockies. It usually hides around, and inside, old tree stumps and other underwater structures. It can live in either deep or very shallow water, and will often move from one to the other depending on the time of day or season. Bluegills also like to find shelter among aquatic plants and in the shade of trees along banks.

Sternoptychidae family of fishes

The marine hatchetfishes or deep-sea hatchetfishes as well as the related bottlelights, pearlsides and constellationfishes are small deep-sea ray-finned fish of the stomiiform family Sternoptychidae. They are not closely related to and should not be confused with the freshwater hatchetfishes, which are teleosts in the characiform family Gasteropelecidae. The Sternoptychidae have 10 genera and about 70 species altogether.

<i>Argyropelecus</i> genus of fishes

Argyropelecus is an oceanic ray-finned fish genus which belongs in the family Sternoptychidae. A collective name is "silver hatchetfishes", but this can also refer to a species of the freshwater hatchetfishes which are not particularly closely related to. The large pupils of these marine hatchetfishes enable them to see dim objects in the deep sea, where light barely penetrates.

Marbled hatchetfish species of fish

The marbled hatchetfish is a small, normally 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in length, freshwater ray-finned fish native to South America. Hatchet shaped, it presents a gold line extending from its eye to its caudal fin while the area below has a brown and cream colored marble-like pattern.

Barreleye family of fishes

Barreleyes, also known as spook fish, are small deep-sea argentiniform fish comprising the family Opisthoproctidae found in tropical-to-temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

The silver hatchetfish is a member of the genus Gasteropelecus in the family Gasteropelecidae. It is a relatively small fish that is often kept in aquariums. It is compressed laterally, with black and gold lines running along its side.

Freshwater butterflyfish species of fish

The freshwater butterflyfish or African butterflyfish, Pantodon buchholzi, is the only species in the family Pantodontidae within the order Osteoglossiformes. It is not closely related to saltwater butterflyfishes.

Banded corydoras species of catfish

The banded corydoras or bearded catfish is a subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Corydoradinae of the family Callichthyidae. It originates in coastal drainages in South America from Rio de Janeiro to Santa Catarina, Brazil.

<i>Callichthys callichthys</i> species of fish

Callichthys callichthys, the cascarudo, armored catfish, bubblenest catfish, hassar, or mailed catfish, is a subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Callichthyinae of the family Callichthyidae.

Black-winged hatchetfish species of fish

The black-winged hatchetfish is a freshwater ray-finned fish native to South America.

<i>Gasteropelecus</i> genus of fishes

Gasteropelecus is a genus of freshwater hatchetfishes found in Central and South America. This genus includes some popular aquarium fishes. There are currently three described species in this genus.

References

  1. https://petfishplace.com/profile/hatchets/
  2. Frey, Hans (1961). Illustrated Dictionary of Tropical Fishes. New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications Inc. pp. 354–5. ISBN   0-87666-157-6.

Further reading

Integrated Taxonomic Information System Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagency group within the US federal government, involving several US federal agencies, and has now become an international body, with Canadian and Mexican government agencies participating. The database draws from a large community of taxonomic experts. Primary content staff are housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and IT services are provided by a US Geological Survey facility in Denver. The primary focus of ITIS is North American species, but many biological groups exist worldwide and ITIS collaborates with other agencies to increase its global coverage.

FishBase is a global species database of fish species. It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web. Over time it has "evolved into a dynamic and versatile ecological tool" that is widely cited in scholarly publications.

<i>Fishes of the World</i> book

Fishes of the World by Joseph S. Nelson is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the 30,000-plus fish species known to science.