Mylossoma

Mylossoma
Mylossoma aureum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Serrasalmidae
Genus: Mylossoma
C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903
Type species
Myletes albiscopus
Cope, 1872

Mylossoma is a genus of serrasalmids from tropical and subtropical South America, including the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and Paraguay-Paraná.[1] These common fish are found both in main river sections and floodplains.[2] They support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.[3] They primarily feed on plant material such as seeds and fruits (to a lesser extent invertebrates), and in their ecology they generally resemble the larger tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).[2] Mylossoma reach up to 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in length[1] and 1 kg (2.2 lb) in weight.[2]

  1. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Mylossoma". FishBase. January 2016 version.
  2. ^ a b c Michael Goulding (1981). The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. pp. 102–111. ISBN 978-0520041318.
  3. ^ Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. ISBN 9781552501146