''Mylossoma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

serrasalmid 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 ...

s from

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, including the basins of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

- Paraná. These common fish are found both in main river sections and

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s. They support important fisheries and based on a review by

IBAMA Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis, IBAMA) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm. IBAMA supports anti-d ...

, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon. 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''). ''Mylossoma'' reach up to in length and in weight.

Species

There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:Mateussi, N.T.B., Pavanelli, C.S. & Oliveira, C. (2016): Molecular identification of cryptic diversity in species of cis-Andean ''Mylossoma'' (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). ''Mitochondrial DNA Part A: DNA Mapping, Sequencing, and Analysis, 28 (5): 778-780.''Mateussi, Nadayca T. B. ; Claudio Oliveira; & Carla S. Pavanelli (2018). Taxonomic Revision of the Cis-Andean Species of Mylossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903 (Teleostei: Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Zootaxa 4387(2): 275–309. * '' Mylossoma acanthogaster'' (

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 ...

, 1850) * '' Mylossoma albiscopum'' (

Cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

, 1872) * '' Mylossoma aureum'' ( Spix & Agassiz, 1829) * '' Mylossoma duriventre'' ( G. Cuvier, 1818) * '' Mylossoma unimaculatum'' ( Steindachner, 1908)

References

Serrasalmidae Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Taxa named by Clarence Hamilton Kennedy Fish of South America {{Characiformes-stub