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Tometes
''Tometes'' is a genus of fish in the family Serrasalmidae found in fast-flowing rivers in northern South America. Adults of all seven species in this genus are phytophagous, feeding primarily on aquatic plants in the family Podostemaceae. The genus name ''Tometes'' was coined in 1850 by Valenciennes in reference to the incisiform teeth. When the type species of the genus, ''T. trilobatus'', was described in 1850, it was placed in synonym with ''Myleus setiger'', the type species of the genus ''Myleus'', which is why ''Tometes'' and ''Myleus'' were considered to be the same genus for a long time. It was just later that the two genera were revalitated and other specimen could be categorized in the genus ''Tometes''. Taxonomy Even today the taxonomic classification of the Serrasalmidae is not an easy task. Many names are placed in synonymy due to a lack of information and insufficient data bases. It was not long ago when it was discovered that ''Tometes'' and ''Myleus'' are tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serrasalmidae
The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes, recently elevated to family status. It includes more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the belly of these fish. Fish classified as Serrasalmidae are also known by these common names: pacu, piranha, and silver dollar. These common names generally designate differing dental characteristics and feeding habits. Description Serrasalmids are medium- to large-sized characiform fishes that reach about long, generally characterized by a deep, laterally compressed body with a series of midventral abdominal spines or scutes, and a long dorsal fin (over 16 rays). Most species also possess an anteriorly directed spine just before the dorsal fin extending from a supraneural bone; exceptions include members of the genera ''Colossoma'', '' Piaractus'', and ''Mylossoma''. Most serrasalmids have about 60 chromosomes, ranging from 54 to 62.''Metynnis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podostemaceae
Podostemaceae (riverweed family), a family in the order Malpighiales, comprise about 50 genera and species of more or less thalloid aquatic herbs. Distribution and habitat They are found mostly in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Many species are found in a very small geographic area, often even just a single river or waterfall. Because of their small range, many species are seriously threatened, especially from habitat loss (for example, due to dams flooding their habitat). Riverweeds adhere to hard surfaces (generally rock) in rapids and waterfalls of rivers. They are submerged when water levels are high, but during the dry season they live a terrestrial existence, flowering at this time. Their root anatomy is specialized for the purpose of clinging to rocks, and in fact details of the root structure are one of the ways of classifying riverweeds. Ecology In many rivers, Podostemaceae are an important food source for a wide range of animals. For example, the tad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacu
Pacu () is a common name used to refer to several species of omnivorous South American freshwater serrasalmid fish that are related to the piranha. Pacu and piranha do not have similar teeth, the main difference being jaw alignment; piranha have pointed, razor-sharp teeth in a pronounced underbite, whereas pacu have squarer, straighter teeth and a less severe underbite, or a slight overbite. Pacu, unlike piranha, mainly feed on plant material and not flesh or scales. Additionally, the pacu can reach much larger sizes than piranha, at up to in total length and in weight. Name The common name ''pacu'' is generally applied to fish classified under the below listed genera. Among these, several genera contain species where commonly used English names include the word ''pacu'', as listed. *''Colossoma'' – black pacu, black-finned pacu, giant pacu *''Metynnis'' *''Mylesinus'' (''Myloplus'') *''Mylossoma '' *''Ossubtus'' – parrot pacu, eaglebeak pacu *'' Piaractus'' – red-bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rheophile
A rheophile is an animal that prefers to live in fast-moving water. Examples of rheophilic animals Insects *Many aquatic insects living in riffles require current to survive. *'' Epeorus sylvicola'', a rheophilic mayfly species ( Ephemeroptera) *Some African (''Elattoneura'') and Asian threadtail (''Prodasineura'') species Birds * Dippers (''Cinclus'') * Grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') and mountain wagtail (''Motacilla clara'') *A few swifts often nest behind waterfalls, including American black swift The American black swift, or more simply black swift (''Cypseloides niger''), is a species of bird that is found from northern British Columbia in Canada through the United States and Mexico to Costa Rica and Brazil. They are also found in the C ... (''Cypseloides niger''), giant swiftlet (''Hydrochous gigas''), great dusky swift (''Cypseloides senex'') and white-collared swift (''Streptoprocne zonaris'') *Some waterfowl, including African black duck (''Anas sparsa'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animalia
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a bilaterally symmetric body plan. The Bilateria include the protostomes, containing animals such as nematodes, arthropods, flatworms, annelids and molluscs, and the deuterostomes, containing the echinoderms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ossubtus
''Ossubtus'' is a genus of fish in the family Serrasalmidae. It contains a single species, ''Ossubtus xinguense'', the parrot pacu or eaglebeak pacu, The species is endemic to rapids in the Xingu River basin in the Brazilian Amazon.Andrade, M.C., Sousa, L.M., Ota, R.P., Jégu, M. & Giarrizzo, T. (2016)Redescription and Geographical Distribution of the Endangered Fish ''Ossubtus xinguense'' Jégu 1992 (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae) with Comments on Conservation of the Rheophilic Fauna of the Xingu River.''PLoS ONE, 11 (9): e0161398.'' This endangered species is primarily a herbivore. Description The body of ''Ossubtus xinguense'' is ovoid in shape. The profile of the snout is blunt. In young fish, the mouth is terminal (pointing forward); however, as the fish grows, the mouth turns downward and becomes strictly ventral in individuals longer than . This gives the mouth a beak-like appearance. It reaches up to in total length and about in weight. Range and habitat ''Ossubtus xingu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trombetas River
The Trombetas is a large river on the northern side of the Amazon River. Course The Trombetas is long, and is navigable by 500 ton vessels for a stretch of . The Trombetas river gives birth to very many rivers, including the Anamu river. It is formed by the junction of the Poana River, Poana and Anuma rivers on the border between Brazil and Guyana. Where it meets the Paraná de Sapucuá it takes the name of lower Trombetas, and reaches up to in width, with the stream divided by several long and narrow islands. It runs through the municipalities of Oriximiná, Terra Santa, Óbidos, Pará, Óbidos and Faro, Pará, Faro. The river basin has an area of about , with an intricate pattern of tributaries including the Poana, Anamu, Turuna, Inhabu, Mapuera and Paru de Oeste River, Paru de Oeste. In the Saracá-Taquera National Forest the main streams in the Trombetas basin are the Papagaio, Água Fria, Moura, Jamari, Ajará, Terra Preta and Saracá. Its confluence with the Amazon is jus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guiana Shield
The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most well-known waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls and Cuquenan Falls. The Guiana Shield underlies Guyana (previously British Guiana), Suriname (previously Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana (or Guyane), much of southern Venezuela, as well as parts of Colombia and Brazil. The rocks of the Guiana Shield consist of metasediments and metavolcanics ( greenstones) overlain by sub-horizontal layers of sandstones, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araguaia River
The Araguaia River ( pt, Rio Araguaia , Karajá: ♂ ''Berohokỹ'' eɾohoˈkə̃ ♀ ''Bèrakuhukỹ'' ɛɾakuhuˈkə̃ is one of the major rivers of Brazil though it is almost equal in volume at its confluence with the Tocantins. It has a total length of approximately 2,627 km. Geography The Araguaia River comes from Goiás-Mato Grosso south borders. From there it flows northeast to a junction with the Tocantins near the town of São João. Along its course, the river forms the border between the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Tocantins and Pará. Roughly in the middle of its course the Araguaia splits into two forks (with the western one retaining the name Araguaia and the eastern one being called the Javaés River). These later reunite, forming the Ilha do Bananal, the world's largest river island. The vein of the Javaés forms a broad inland where it pours back into the main Araguaia, a 100,000 hectare expanse of igapós or flooded forest, blackwater river channels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tocantins River
The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means " toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak"). It runs from south to north for about 2,450 km. It is not really a branch of the Amazon River, since its waters flow into the Atlantic Ocean alongside those of the Amazon. It flows through four Brazilian states (Goiás, Tocantins, Maranhão and Pará) and gives its name to one of Brazil's newest states, formed in 1988 from what was until then the northern portion of Goiás. The Tocantins is one of the largest clearwater rivers in South America. Course It rises in the mountainous district known as the Pireneus, west of the Federal District, but its western tributary, the Araguaia River, has its extreme southern headwaters on the slopes of the Serra dos Caiapós. The Araguaia flows 1,670 km before its confluence with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xingu River
The Xingu River ( ; pt, Rio Xingu, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Byti'', ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. __TOC__ Description and history The first Indigenous Park in Brazil was created in the river basin by the Brazilian government in the early 1960s. This park marks the first indigenous territory recognized by the Brazilian government and it was the world's largest indigenous preserve on the date of its creation. Currently, fourteen tribes live within Xingu Indigenous Park, surviving on natural resources and extracting from the river most of what they need for food and water. The Brazilian government is building the Belo Monte Dam, which will be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, on the Lower Xingu. Construction of this dam is under legal challenge by environment and indigenous groups, who assert the dam would have negative enviro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brazilian Highlands
The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau ( pt, Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,500,000 km2 (1,930,511 sq mi). In addition, the vast majority of Brazil's population (190,755,799; ''2010 census'') lives in the highlands or on the narrow coastal region immediately adjacent to it. Ancient basaltic lava flows gave birth to much of the region. However, the time of dramatic geophysical activity is long past, as there is now no seismic or volcanic activity. Erosion has also played a large part in shaping the Highlands, forming extensive sedimentary deposits and wearing down the mountains. The Brazilian Highlands are recognized for the great diversity to be found there: within the region there are several different biomes, vastly different climatic conditions, many types of soil, and thousands of animal and plant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.JPG "Click for more on -> Guiana Shield")
