''Hyphessobrycon compressus'', the Mayan tetra, is a species of

tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by ...

, belonging to the family

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their ...

. It is the northernmost species in the genus Hyphessobrycon, as well as its type species.

Description

The Mayan tetra is a silver fish with clear fins. They express minimal

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

, with males being slightly darker than females. The base of the dorsal fin is black in coloration. These fish are known to grow up to 4 to 4.5 centimeters (1.6 to 1.8 inches) in length. It is similar in shape to the

black phantom tetra The black phantom tetra (''Hyphessobrycon megalopterus''), or simply phantom tetra, is a small freshwater fish of the characin family (Characidae) of order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Paraguay basin and upper Madeira basin (including ...

, although it is slightly slimmer in appearance.

Distribution and habitat

The Mayan tetra is known to inhabit the Papaloapan River Basin in southern

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 ...

, as well as

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

and northern Guatemala. They live in waters ranging from 23° to 26 °C (73° to 79 °F). As a benthopelagic fish, they resides away from the surface of the water.

Diet

It is presumed that the Mayan tetra is an opportunistic omnivore.

References

{{Improve categories, date=May 2022 Characidae