Lignobrycon myersi

Lignobrycon myersi was first formally described as Moojenichthys myersi in 1956 by the Brazilian zoologist Paulo de Miranda Ribeiro, with its type locality given as the Rio Braço in Ilhéus, Bahia.^[2] In 1998, it was reclassified in the otherwise fossil genus Lignobrycon.^[3] The genus Lignobrycon has one other definite species, the type species †L. ligniticus, and possibly one other species, †L. altus, with these latter two species being extinct and known only from fossils.^[4][5] The genus Lignobrycon is classified within the hatchet characin family Triportheidae,^[6] in the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes.^[7] Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes appears to place this genus in the subfamily Triportheinae,^[8] but other authors place it in the Agoniatinae.^[9]

Lignobrycon myersi is the only extant species in the genus Lignobrycon. This name uses the prefix ligno-, a derivation of lignum, a Latin word meaning "gathered wood" or "firewood". This name was originally applied to this genus as the type species, L. ligniticus, was found in Tertiary deposits of lignite in São Paulo. This is prefixed to brycon, a component of many scientific names of characiform fishes which is derived from brýchō, meaning to "bite", "gnash teeth" or "eat greedily". This originally referred to the full set of teeth on each maxilla. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist George S. Myers of Stanford University.^[9]

Lignobrycon myersi has a maximum standard length of 8.5 cm (3.3 in). The dorsal fin is supported by 2 spines and 8 soft rays, while the anal fin contain 4 spines and 31–35 soft rays.^[10]