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The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
The ghost knifefishes are a family, Apteronotidae, of ray-finned fishes in the order Gymnotiformes. These fish are native to Panama and South America. They inhabit a wide range of freshwater habitats, but more than half the species in the family are found deep in rivers where there is little or no light.
Sand knifefish are freshwater electric fish of the family Rhamphichthyidae, from freshwater habitats in South America.
Mesonauta, the flag cichlids, is a small genus of cichlids native to the Amazon, Orinoco, Essequibo, Paraná and Paraguay basins in South America. Mesonauta is included in the subfamily Cichlasomatinae. They occur in various freshwater habitats such as streams and lakes, especially in areas with little water movement and aquatic vegetation. They are generally found in small groups that stay near the water surface. To avoid predators, adults may jump out of the water and juveniles mimic leaves.
The banded knifefish is a species of gymniform knifefish native to a wide range of freshwater habitats in South America. It is the most widespread species of Gymnotus, but it has frequently been confused with several relatives, including some found outside its range like the Central America G. maculosus. The English name "banded knifefish" is sometimes used for the entire genus Gymnotus instead of only the species G. carapo.
Spectracanthicus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfish endemic to the Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins river basins in Brazil where often found in fast-flowing waters. The largest species in the genus reaches up to 13 cm (5.1 in) in standard length. They feed on algae and small invertebrates.
The biara is a South American piscivorous fish in the dogtooth characin family. It belongs to the monotypic genus Rhaphiodon, although some minor differences in morphometrics and colour are known from across its large range. It is found in the Amazon, Orinoco, and Río de la Plata Basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas. It occurs in a wide range of freshwater habitats such as main river channels, flooded forests, lakes and reservoirs. Some populations are migratory.
The freshwater fish of tropical South and Central America, represent one of the most diverse and extreme aquatic ecosystems on Earth, with more than 5,600 species, representing about 10% all living vertebrate species. The exceptional diversity of species, adaptations, and life histories observed in the Neotropical ichthyofauna has been the focus of numerous books and scientific papers, especially the wonderfully complex aquatic ecosystems of the Amazon Basin and adjacent river basins. Many of the advances in Neotropical ichthyology have been summarized in three edited volumes: Malabarba et al. (1998); Reis et al. (2003); Albert and Reis (2011).
Metynnis is a genus of serrasalmid fish from tropical and subtropical South America. They are herbivorous or omnivorous, and inhabit a wide range of freshwater habitats, ranging from rivers and streams, to floodplains, flooded forests, lakes, pools and reservoirs. They generally reach 8–15 cm (3–6 in) in standard length, although a few species may reach up to 18 cm (7 in). The genus contains many of the species known as silver dollars in the aquarium trade.
Cynodon is a genus of dogtooth characins from tropical South America, including the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and rivers in the Guianas. These predatory fish reach up to 32.2 cm (1.06 ft) in standard length. They are mainly piscivorous, but will also take insects.
Parapteronotus hasemani, the duckbill knifefish, is a species of ghost knifefish found in main river channels and along the margins in the Amazon basin of Brazil and Peru. It is the only member of the genus Parapteronotus. This dark-colored knifefish reaches up to about 38 cm (15 in) in total length.
Sternarchella, the bulldog knifefish, is a genus of ghost knifefishes found at depths of 2–50 m (7–164 ft) in the main channel of large rivers in South America. Most are from the Amazon basin, but S. orthos is found both in the Amazon and Orinoco, S. orinoco is restricted to the Orinoco and S. curvioperculata restricted to the upper Paraná basin. They are often common in their habitat.
Sternarchorhamphus muelleri is a species of ghost knifefish that occurs in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in tropical South America. It has a long pointed snout and reaches up to about 45 cm (18 in) in total length. It is the only member of the genus Sternarchorhamphus.
Microsternarchus is a genus of bluntnose knifefish that is found in creeks and streams, often in areas with submerged vegetation, roots and leaf litter, in the Amazon, Orinoco, Essequibo–Rupununi and Río de la Plata basins in South America. The two recognized species are both small knifefish, with the largest being M. bilineatus at up to 12 cm (4.7 in) in total length. The other is M. brevis, which at up to only 5.3 cm (2.1 in) is the world's smallest knifefish. Microsternarchus are very similar to Brachyhypopomus.
Steatogenys is a genus of gymnotiform knifefishes found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo river basins in tropical South America. The widespread and common S. elegans is found in a wide range of habitats, from the shallow essentially static waters such as floodplain lakes to fast-flowing rivers as deep as 50 m (160 ft). The two remaining species are less common and widespread, with A. duidae found mainly in small streams running through terra firme forests and S. ocellatus among submerged roots and branches in static or slow-flowing blackwater habitats. All three are regularly found among vegetation in floating meadows, a habitat that often contains little oxygen, but they are well-adapted to this.
Rhabdolichops is a genus of glass knifefishes found in Amazon, Orinoco and Maroni basins in tropical South America. They live near the bottom in main river channels, floodplains and lagoons, and are typically found in relatively deep waters.
Sternopygus is a genus of glass knifefishes found in tropical and subtropical South America, and Panama. They inhabit a wide range of freshwater habitats, from fast-flowing rivers to essentially static waters in floodplains, and shallow habitats to the bottom of deep rivers. S. macrurus will even visit brackish mangrove to feed.
Krobia is a genus of cichlid fish native to freshwater habitats in South America, with three species found in the Guianas and a single in the Xingu River basin. They are typically found in small streams or creeks with little current and they feed on small invertebrates. They reach up to 12.8 cm (5.0 in) in standard length. They were formerly included in Aequidens.
Hydrolycus tatauaia is a species of dogtooth characin found in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins in tropical South America. Adults mainly occur in deep and/or fast-flowing rivers. It is migratory, moving upstream to breed in November–April.
Scott Allen Schaefer is an American ichthyologist working at the American Museum of Natural History as the dean of science for collections, exhibitions, and the public understanding of science; he serves as the curator-in-charge, in the department of ichthyology, within the division of vertebrate zoology.
References
- ↑ "Albert Lab". University of Louisiana Lafayette. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ↑ "James S. Albert". Google Scholar Citations. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ↑ "James Albert". Department of Biology. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ↑ Albert, J. S.; Reis, R. E., eds. (2011). Historical Biogeography of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- ↑ van der Sleen, P.; Albert, J. S., eds. (2017). Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas. University of Princeton Press. ISBN 9780691170749.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ Sleen, Peter van der; Albert, James S. (2017-12-19). Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400888801.
