Megalamphodus socolofi
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| Megalamphodus socolofi | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Acestrorhamphidae |
| Subfamily: | Megalamphodinae |
| Genus: | Megalamphodus |
| Species: | M. socolofi |
| Binomial name | |
| Megalamphodus socolofi (Weitzman, 1977) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Megalamphodus socolofi, the spotfin tetra, lesser bleeding heart tetra or greenbacked bleeding heart tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in northern South America, where it is restricted to the Rio Negro basin of Brazil. The spotfin tetra is found in the aquarium trade.
Megalamphodus socolofi was first formally described as Hyphessobrycon socolofi in 1977 by the American ichthyologist Stanley Howard Weitzman, with its type locality given as Barcelos, at 0°58'S, 62°57'W on the Rio Negro in Amazonas, Brazil.[2] In 2024, this species was reclassified in the genus Megalamphodus, which had been proposed by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1915 and is the type genus of the subfamily Megalamphodinae, the red tetras, within the American tetra family, Acestrorhamphidae.[3] This family is classified within the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes.[4]
Etymology
Megalamphodus socolofi is classified in the genus Megalamphodus, which is Greek and means "with spacious ways", a name coined by Carl H. Eigenmann which he gave no explanation for. It may be an allusion to the “very large” fontanels, the frontal bones being described as "entirely separate", that is, with a space between them and the parietal bones. The specific name honours the American trader and breeder of ornamental fishes Ross Socolof, who used his contacts in Brazil to obtain the holotype of this species.[5]
Description
Megalamphodus socolofi has a deep laterally compressed body[6] with a maximum standard length of 5.6 cm (2.2 in).[7] The overall colour is chocolate brown with a vermilion tint, with pale blue and green tints creating the impression of a violet colour. The lower body is more silvery than the upper. There is a deep red to pink humeral spot with a similrs spot on the caudal peduncle. There is a copper bar to the front of the eye. There is a white stripe along the base of the anal fin, and there is a large black spot covering the third to sixth rays of the dorsal fin.[6]