Mylossoma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mylossoma Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mylossoma aureum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Serrasalmidae |
| Subfamily: | Colossomatinae |
| 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]
Fossil remains are known from the Middle Miocene-aged Pebas Formation of Peru.[4]
