Head stand

This article deals with the headstand family, for the Anostomidae family, also known colloquially as the headstand, see Engmaulsalmler .

Head stand
Puncture headstand ( Chilodus punctatus )
Systematics
Overcohort : Clupeocephala Cohort : Otomorpha Sub-cohort : Ostariophysi Otophysa Order : Tetras (Characiformes) Family : Head stand
Scientific name
Chilodontidae
Eigenmann , 1912

The headstanders (Chilodontidae, Greek cheilos "lip", odous "tooth") are a family of freshwater fish from the order of the tetra , which are noticeable for their vertical swimming style, in which the head is held down. Their distribution area is in northern South America in the river basins of the Amazon , the Orinoco , the Rio Paraíba and in the rivers of Guiana . Some species, especially the spotted headstand ( Chilodus punctatus ), are caught for the purpose of keeping the aquarium.

features

The headstars are 6.5 to 16 centimeters long. Your maxillary (upper jaw bone) is greatly enlarged, the premaxillary (front part of the upper jaw) is relatively small. In each case a single row of relatively small teeth is very mobile on the lips of the upper jaw, in most species also on those of the lower jaw. Headstanders have 25 to 31 scales along the lateral line organ , six of which are much smaller than the rest, a feature unique to the tetra. The basic color is a strong, silvery, shiny gray, the base of the scales on the sides of the body is dark, so that a pattern of dark dots arranged in rows results.

Way of life

Some headstand species live exclusively in black water rivers ( Caenotropus mestomormatus , C. maculosus ), others also live in white and clear water rivers ( Chilodus frittilus ). Headstanders eat up growth. Caenotropus labyrinthicus feeds on invertebrates, detritus, and freshwater sponges . It spawns in May. In the spotted headstand, the males form territories at the beginning of the breeding season and fight each other. They spawn in slender plants. The fry hatch after three to four days and swim vertically in small schools.

Genera and species

There are two genera and eight species.

• Genus Caenotropus Günther, 1864 .
  • Caenotropus labyrinthicus ( Kner , 1858) .
  • Caenotropus maculosus (Eigenmann, 1912) .
  • Caenotropus mestomorgmatos Vari, Castro & Raredon, 1995 .
  • Caenotropus schizodon Scharcansky & de Lucena, 2007 .
• Genus Chilodus Müller & Troschel, 1844 .
  • Chilodus fritillus Vari & Ortega, 1997 .
  • Chilodus gracilis Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1988 .
  • Spotted headstand ( Chilodus punctatus ) Müller & Troschel, 1844 .
  • Chilodus Zunevei Puyo, 1946 .

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 .
• Hans-Joachim Franke: The headstanders of the genera Caenotropus and Chilodus. in DATZ , 5/95, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, ISSN  1616-3222 .
• BF Melo, BL Sidlauskas, K. Hoekzema, RP Vari, C. Oliveira: The first molecular phylogeny of Chilodontidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) reveals cryptic biodiversity and taxonomic uncertainty . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, October 2013, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2013.09.025

Web links

Commons : Chilodontidae  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Headstand on Fishbase.org (English)