Barbel tetra
| Barbel tetra | ||||||||||||
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Semaprochilodus sp. |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Prochilodontidae | ||||||||||||
| Steindachner , 1879 |
The barben tetra (Prochilodontidae) live with 21 to 22 species in three genera in the larger rivers of South America . They have an elongated, laterally flattened, high-backed, often massive body with a single dorsal fin , an adipose fin and a deeply forked caudal fin . Barbel tetra are 24 to 61 centimeters long. They are usually of a silvery or gray color, their dorsal, anal and caudal fins banded with dark longitudinal stripes. Young fish are often much more colorful than the adults .
The mouth can be extended far. On their lips they have two rows of very small, spade-shaped or comb-like teeth. When the mouth is stretched out, a toothed mouth disc forms, with which plants, debris or algae and microorganisms are scraped off solid surfaces.
Barbel tetra migrate in large swarms to the upper reaches of the rivers to spawn and release their gametes in pairs via aquatic plants.
On the spawning migrations, the fish called "Bocachicos" (small mouths) in their homeland are caught as popular food fish.
Systematics
- Barbensalmler family (Prochilodontidae), Steindachner, 1879
- Genus Ichthyoelephas , Posada, 1909
- Ichthyoelephas humeralis , (Günther, 1860)
- Ichthyoelephas longirostris , (Steindachner, 1879)
- Genus Prochilodus , Agassiz, 1829
- Prochilodus argenteus , Spix & Agassiz, 1829
- Prochilodus brevis , Steindachner, 1875
- Prochilodus britskii , Castro, 1993
- Prochilodus costatus , Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1850
- Prochilodus hartii , Steindachner, 1875
- Prochilodus labeo , Loubens, Lauzanne & Géry, 1991
- Prochilodus lacustris , Steindachner, 1907
- Prochilodus lineatus , (Valenciennes, 1836)
- Prochilodus magdalenae , Steindachner, 1879
- Prochilodus mariae , Eigenmann, 1922
- Prochilodus nigricans , Spix & Agassiz, 1829
- Prochilodus reticulatus , Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1850
- Prochilodus rubrotaeniatus , Jardine & Schomburgk in Schomburgk, 1841
- Prochilodus vimboides , Kner, 1859
- Genus Semaprochilodus , Fowler, 1941
- Semaprochilodus brama , (Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1850)
- Night tetra ( Semaprochilodus insignis ), Jardine & Schomburgk, 1841
- Semaprochilodus kneri , Pellegrin, 1909
- Seamprochilodus laticeps , Steindachner, 1879
- Semaprochilodus taeniurus , Valenciennes, 1821
- Semaprochilodus varii , Castro, 1988
- Genus Ichthyoelephas , Posada, 1909
literature
- Joseph S. Nelson: Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- Barbensalmler on Fishbase.org (English)