Flame tetra

Flame tetra
Flame tetra (male)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Characidae
Genus: Hyphessobrycon
Species:
H. flammeus
Binomial name
Hyphessobrycon flammeus

The flame tetra (Hyphessobrycon flammeus), also known as the red tetra or Rio tetra, is a small freshwater fish of the characin family Characidae. This tetra was first introduced as aquarium fish in 1920 by C. Bruening, Hamburg, Germany, and formally described in 1924 by Dr. George S. Myers.[2][3] Today large numbers are bred in captivity and it is common in the aquarium trade,[4] but the remaining wild population in Southeast Brazil is highly threatened.[5][6]

Cuba produced a postal stamp with an image of H. flammeus in 1978.[7]

  1. ^ Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) (2022). "Hyphessobrycon flammeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T186967A1821074. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T186967A1821074.en. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  2. ^ Myers, G.S. 1924. A new characin fish from Rio de Janeiro. – The Fish Culturist, 4: 330–331.
  3. ^ Type series of 2 specimens, United States National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., catalog number USNM 92969 (includes both specimens), see Vari, R.P. and Howe, J.C. 1991. Catalog of type specimens of Recent fishes in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. 1. Characiformes (Teleostei, Ostariophysi). – Smithsonian Contributions in Zoology, 517: 1–52.
  4. ^ Aquainfo: Breeding Hyphessobrycon flammeus. Archived 2017-09-18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  5. ^ Carvalho, F.R., Jesus, G.C.d. & Langeani, F. (2014). Redescription of Hyphessobrycon flammeus Myers, 1924 (Ostariophysi: Characidae), a threatened species from Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology, 12 (2): 247–256.
  6. ^ SeriouslyFish: Hyphessobrycon flammeus. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  7. ^ See image here, from: Froese, R. and Pauly, D. (eds.) 2007. FishBase. – WorldWideWeb electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 11/2007.