''Boulengerella cuiveri'', commonly known as the bicuda, is a species of

pike-characin The Ctenoluciidae (meaning "comb light family"), also known as pike-characins, are a small family of freshwater fishes from Panama and South America. They have elongated, pike-like bodies, and several sharp and conical teeth. They are relativel ...

in the family Ctenoluciidae. The fish is named in honor of

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

(1769-1832), French naturalist and zoologist, because he was first to accurately diagnose the family Salmones, which at that time included all characiform fishes.

Description

''Boulengerella cuiveri'' grows to a maximum length of , and has a maximum published weight of . It has ten to eleven dorsal soft rays, nine to eleven anal soft rays, and 48 to 49 vertebrae. It lacks dorsal and anal spines. It is a

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

, and typically preys upon smaller fish.

Distribution and habitat

''Boulengerella cuiveri'' is a freshwater fish native to the

Amazon region The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

. It can be found in Peru and Brazil, the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

in Colombia and Venezuela, and the tributaries of the Amazon, such as the

Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê dialect, 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 ...

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 ...

Negro River Río Negro (Spanish and Portuguese, 'Black River') may refer to: Rivers Brazil * Rio Negro (Amazon), tributary of the Amazon River * Rio Negro (Mato Grosso do Sul) * Rio Negro (Paraná) * Rio Negro (Rio de Janeiro) * Rio Negro (Rondônia) * ...

Madeira River The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is ...

, and others as far as Bolivia. Furthermore, it is can also be found in the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...

in Guiana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It can be found on the surface of areas with rapidly flowing water, usually behind obstacles such as fallen logs or rocks.

Status

This species has not been evaluated by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

References

{{Italic title Ctenoluciidae Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix Taxa_named_by_Louis_Agassiz Fish described in 1829 Fish of Brazil Fish of Peru Fish of Colombia Fish of Venezuela Fish of Bolivia Fish of Suriname Fish of French Guiana