Hyphessobrycon panamensis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Characiformes |
Family: | Acestrorhamphidae |
Genus: | Hyphessobrycon |
Species: | H. panamensis |
Binomial name | |
Hyphessobrycon panamensis Durbin, 1908 | |
Synonyms | |
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Hyphessobrycon panamensis, commonly known as the Panama tetra, is a Central American species of tetra in the family Characidae.
The Panama tetra was first discovered between 1865 and 1866 during the Thayer Expedition, when specimens of this fish were collected from the Boqueron River of Panama. These specimens were later studied by American ichthyologist Marion Durbin Ellis, who determined that they represent a species unknown to science at the time. In 1908, she established Hyphessobrycon as a subgenus of Hemigrammus and assigned this species to it, giving it the scientific name Hyphessobrycon panamensis. [2] However, she did not designate any of the specimens as a holotype, so instead one of them (with the specimen number USNM 120416) was designated as the lectotype in 2020, while the rest became paralectotypes. [3] In 1917, German-American ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann elevated Hyphessobrycon to genus level, determining that its members (including the Panama tetra) represent a separate grouping from Hemigrammus. [4]
In 1912, American ichthyologists Seth Eugene Meek and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand established a new fish species which they named Hemigrammus minutus. This was done based on analysis of specimens collected from streams in the Panama Canal Zone, with one kept in the Field Museum of Natural History and given the specimen number FMNH 7572 being designated as the holotype of the species. [5] A year later, Eigenmann determined that this species does not differ significantly from Hyphessobrycon panamensis and should therefore be considered a junior synonym of it. [6] This synonymy was further confirmed in a 2020 study by additional examination of specimens that have been attributed to both names. [3]
The following types of fish were formerly thought to be populations of Hyphessobrycon panamensis, but have since been discovered to actually represent different species.