Algae tetra

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Algae tetra
Apareiodon affinis

Apareiodon affinis

Systematics
Overcohort : Clupeocephala
Cohort : Otomorpha
Sub-cohort : Ostariophysi
Otophysa
Order : Tetras (Characiformes)
Family : Algae tetra
Scientific name
Parodontidae
Eigenmann , 1910

The parodontidae or Raspelzahnsalmler (Parodontidae; to Greek par "equal", "corresponding to", and odon "tooth") are a family of South American tetras (Perciformes). Their distribution area extends from eastern Panama over large parts of South America to the Río de la Plata . They are absent in some coastal river systems, in Patagonia and in the main stream of the Amazon .

features

Algae tetra grow 4 to 15 centimeters long. Their bodies are elongated and spindle-shaped or pencil-shaped. The mouth is terminal, the upper lip is poorly developed or absent. On the premaxillary (front part of the upper jaw) the fish have four (rarely two) spade-shaped teeth with straight cut edges. The premaxillary is enlarged and very mobile. Some species also have teeth on the maxillary and mandible. Overall, the lower mouth and the teeth of the family, which mostly lives in mountain rivers, are equipped with wide, multi-pointed rasp teeth and are strongly adapted to the scraping of the algae growth on rocks and stones. They have 35 to 41 vertebrae and 34 to 43 scales along the lateral line organ .

The family used to be counted as a subfamily of the club tetras (Hemiodontidae) or Hemiodidae.

Genera and species

There are 3 genera and 29 species:

literature

  • Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World . John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
  • Axel Zarske: Apeirodon , Parodon Valenciennes, 1849 , Parodon suborbitale and Parodontidae. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 58 f. and 752.

Web links

Commons : Algensalmler (Parodontidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Jorge Porto u. a .: Cytogenetic Studies in Hemiodidae (Ostariophysi, Characiformes) Fishes from the Central Amazon. In: Cytologia. Volume 58, No. 4, (January) 1993, pp. 397-402.