Petitella georgiae

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Petitella georgiae
Petitella georgiae (132146543).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Acestrorhamphidae
Genus: Petitella
Species:
P. georgiae
Binomial name
Petitella georgiae
Géry & Boutière, 1964 [2]

Petitella georgiae, the false rummy-nose tetra or false rednose tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in South America, where it is caught for the aquarium trade.

Contents

Taxonomy

Petitella georgiae was first formally described in 1964 by the French ichthyologists Jacques Géry and Henri Boutière with its type locality given as Lagunas village in the lower Río Huallago in Loreto District, Peru. [2] When Géry and Boutière described this species they proposed the new genus Petitella , of which it was the only species and the designated type species. [3] In 2020 two species. Hemigrammus bleheri and H. rhodostomus , were reclassified into Petitella as a molecular phylogentic study found that they were sisters to P. georgiae. [4] The genus Petitella belong s to the subfamily Megalamphodinae, the red tetras, within the American tetra family, Acestrorhamphidae. [5] This family is classified within the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes. [6]

Etymology

Petitella georgiae is the type species of the genus Petitella, this name suffixes the Latin diminutive -ella onto the surname of the French zoologist and anatomist Georges Petit, who was director of the Laboratoire Arago in France. The specific name, georgiae, honours Géry’s wife, Georgie. [7]

Description

Petitella georgiae has a maximum standard length of 3.9 cm (1.5 in). This species can be distinguished from the other two Petitella species by the possession of a long, broad maxilla with a single row of teeth on the premaxilla and between 9 and 11 teeth, with 5 cuspids on the dentary and the absence of a black spot on the lower part of the caudal peduncle. [8]

Distribution and habitat

Petitella georgiae is found in the Western Amazon Basin in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. This species is found in lakes in the floodplains of clear water rivers. [1]

Utilisation

Petitella georgiae occurs in the aquarium trade, although it is less commonly traded than its congeners. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lima, F. (2023). "Petitella georgiae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2023 e.T49829663A160188179. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T49829663A160188179.en . Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Petitella". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Megalamphodinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  4. Bittencourt, P. S.; V. N. Machado; B. G. Marshall; T. Hrbek; and I. P. Farias (2020). "Phylogenetic relationships of the neon tetras Paracheirodon spp. (Characiformes: Characidae: Stethaprioninae), including comments on Petitella georgiae and Hemigrammus bleheri". Neotropical Ichthyology. 18 (2): 1–11. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-2019-0109.
  5. Melo, Bruno F; Ota, Rafaela P; Benine, Ricardo C; et al. (2024-09-01). "Phylogenomics of Characidae, a hyper-diverse Neotropical freshwater fish lineage, with a phylogenetic classification including four families (Teleostei: Characiformes)" . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202 (1) zlae101. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae101. ISSN   0024-4082.
  6. R. Fricke; W. N. Eschmeyer; R. Van der Laan (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  7. Christopher Scharpf (3 October 2025). "Family ACESTRORHAMPHIDAE Eigenmann 1907 (American Tetras)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  8. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Petitella georgiae year-2025". FishBase .