''Chirostoma'' is a genus of

Neotropical silversides The Neotropical silversides are a family, Atherinopsidae, of fishes in the order Atheriniformes. About 112 species in 13 genera are distributed throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the New World, including both marine and freshwater ha ...

from the

Lerma River The Lerma River ( es, Río Lerma) is Mexico's second longest river. It is a river in west-central Mexico that begins in Mexican Plateau at an altitude over above sea level, and ends where it empties into Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake, near ...

basin in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, including lakes Chapala and

Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...

. Fish in the genus collectively go by the common name charal/charales in their native range (a name also used for the related ''

Poblana ''Poblana'' is a genus of Neotropical silversides that are endemic to Mexico, with each of the four threatened species restricted to a single Oriental Basin maar lake. They are small fish that do not surpass in standard length. Species FishBa ...

''). They are heavily fished, but several of the species have become

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

due to habitat loss (pollution, water extraction and drought),

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

and

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

. Three species are considered extinct: '' C. bartoni'' (disappeared 2006), '' C. charari'' (1957) and '' C. compressum'' (1900). Four others have not been recorded recently and may also be extinct.

Appearance and behavior

''Chirostoma'' are generally silvery-white, pale gray-brown or dull yellowish in color, and have a long horizontal line on the side of the body (inconspicuous and more spotty in some species). They vary in size, ranging from species that are less than long to species that can surpass . Despite the differences, there is great overlap in the food choice of these

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

s with the main diet being composed of various small organisms (mostly

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

ic) such as

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

cladocera The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms). Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...

ns,

rotifer The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

oligochaete Oligochaeta () is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the various earthworms. Specifically, oligochaetes comprise the terrestrial megadrile earthworm ...

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

s, insect larvae, and fish eggs and embryos (including those of silversides). They are

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

and employ

external fertilization External fertilization is a mode of reproduction in which a male organism's sperm fertilizes a female organism's egg outside of the female's body. It is contrasted with internal fertilization, in which sperm are introduced via insemination and then ...

. During spawning each female lays a few hundred to a few thousand eggs.

Species

There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus. Additionally, the 4 ''

'' species are sometimes included in ''Chirostoma'' instead of being placed in a separate genus. Several species of ''Chirostoma'' can

hybridize Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

. * '' Chirostoma aculeatum'' C. D. Barbour, 1973 (Scowling silverside) * '' Chirostoma arge'' ( D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) (Largetooth silverside) * '' Chirostoma attenuatum''

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

, 1902 (Slender silverside) * †'' Chirostoma bartoni'' D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1896 (Alberca silverside) * '' Chirostoma chapalae'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899 (Smallmouth silverside) * †'' Chirostoma charari'' ( F. de Buen, 1945) (Least silverside) * †'' Chirostoma compressum'' F. de Buen, 1940 * '' Chirostoma consocium'' D. S. Jordan & C. L. Hubbs, 1919 (Ranch silverside) * '' Chirostoma contrerasi'' C. D. Barbour, 2002 (Ajijic silverside) * '' Chirostoma copandaro'' F. de Buen, 1945 * '' Chirostoma estor'' D. S. Jordan, 1880 (Pike silverside) * '' Chirostoma grandocule'' ( Steindachner, 1894) (Bigeye silverside) * '' Chirostoma humboldtianum'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1835) (Shortfin silverside) * '' Chirostoma jordani'' Woolman, 1894 (Charal) * '' Chirostoma labarcae''

, 1902 (Sharpnose silverside) * '' Chirostoma lucius'' Boulenger, 1900 (Longjaw silverside) * '' Chirostoma melanoccus''

Álvarez Álvarez or Álvares may refer to: People *Álvarez (surname), Spanish surname Places *Alvares (river), a river in northern Spain * Alvares (ski resort), in Iran *Alvares, Iran * Alvares, Portugal *Álvarez, Santa Fe, a town in the province of Sa ...

, 1963 (Blunthead silverside) * ''

Chirostoma patzcuaro ''Chirostoma'' is a genus of Neotropical silversides from the Lerma River basin in Mexico, including lakes Lake Chapala, Chapala and Lake Pátzcuaro, Pátzcuaro. Fish in the genus collectively go by the common name charal/charales in their nativ ...

, 1902 (Patzcuaro silverside) * '' Chirostoma promelas'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899 (Blacknose silverside) * '' Chirostoma reseratum''

, 1963 * '' Chirostoma riojai'' Solórzano & Y. López, 1966 (Toluca silverside) * '' Chirostoma sphyraena'' Boulenger, 1900 (Bigmouth silverside) * '' Chirostoma zirahuen''

, 1902

Culinary use

Dried ''Chirostoma'' can be fried with salt and lemon and covered with fried egg with garlic or chili. They can be added to omelettes or fried pancakes in

green sauce Green sauce or greensauce is a family of cold, uncooked sauces based on chopped herbs, including the Spanish and Italian ''salsa verde'', the French ''sauce verte'', the German ''Grüne Soße'' or ''Frankfurter Grie Soß'' (Frankfurt dialect) ...

Availability

''Chirostoma'' can be purchased at restaurants on the shores of

Lake Chapala Lake Chapala ( es, Lago de Chapala, ) is Mexico's largest freshwater lake. It lies in the municipalities of Ocotlán, Chapala, Jocotepec, Poncitlán, and Jamay, in Jalisco, and in Venustiano Carranza and Cojumatlán de Régules, in Mich ...

in local markets. They are typically sold dried and are affordable. '' C. estor'' is

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

d, and '' C. humboldtianum'', another potential candidate for aquaculture, has been bred in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2055925 Atherinopsidae Extant Pliocene first appearances Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fish of Mexico Mexican cuisine