''Pyrrhulina laeta'', known as the half-banded pyrrhulina or half-lined pyrrhulina, is a fish found near

Pebas Pebas District is one of four districts of the province Mariscal Ramón Castilla in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the S ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and in tributaries of the Ampiyacu River. It is frequently confused with other species.

Physical appearance

The ocellated

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

is the most attractive attribute. The back is pale olive, becoming silvery toward the belly. A fine, black line runs from the snout, across the eye to the end of the gill cover, then thickens to a wide band along the body, which suggests its common name, the half-banded pyrrulina. Other fins show blushes of red.

In captivity

A mature male has a more elongated upper caudal fin lobe than the mature female. No record exists of breeding this species in captivity, but the feat is believed possible. The species is not attractive enough to warrant a thorough and intensive effort at breeding, yet with the great contrast of breeding habits in this family it might be interesting to try to induce them to spawn in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3756222 Lebiasinidae Fish of South America Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Fish described in 1872