''Salminus'', popularly known as dorado or dourado, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of relatively large (up to long),

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

freshwater fish from 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 st ...

. They are native to large tropical and subtropical rivers in

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 southe ...

, and undertake migrations during the rainy season to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...

.Lima, F. C. T., and H. A. Britski (2007).
Salminus franciscanus, a new species from the rio São Francisco basin, Brazil (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae)
' Neotrop. Ichthyol. 5(3). They are very popular among recreational anglers and also support important

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

Species

Significant

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

confusion has surrounded this genus, and until a review in 1990, several additional species were recognised (most of these are

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

s of ''S. brasiliensis'').Géry, J. and L. Lauzanne (1990). ''Les types des espèces du genre Salminus Agassiz, 1829 (Ostariophysi, Characidae) du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris.'' Cybium 14(2): 113-124. Although known for more than 150 years, ''S. franciscanus'' was only

scientifically described A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

in 2007. Today, four extant (living) species are recognised: * ''

Salminus affinis ''Salminus'', popularly known as dorado or dourado, is a genus of relatively large (up to long), predatory freshwater fish from the family Characidae. They are native to large tropical and subtropical rivers in South America, and undertake migra ...

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1880 –

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and Magdalena basins in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

* ''

Salminus brasiliensis ''Salminus brasiliensis'' (dourado, dorado, golden dorado, river tiger or jaw characin) is a large, predatory characiform freshwater fish found in central and east-central South America. Despite having ''Salminus'' in its name, the dorado is not r ...

'' (

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

, 1816) (dorado/golden dorado) –

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 ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, Chapare and Mamoré basins, and drainage of the

Lagoa dos Patos Lagoa dos Patos (, , ; English: ''Ducks' Lagoon'') is the largest lagoon in Brazil and the largest coastal lagoon in South America. It is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It covers an area of , is long and has a maximu ...

* ''

Salminus franciscanus ''Salminus'', popularly known as dorado or dourado, is a genus of relatively large (up to long), predatory freshwater fish from the family Characidae. They are native to large tropical and subtropical rivers in South America, and undertake migra ...

'' F. C. T. Lima & Britski, 2007 – São Francisco basin * ''

Salminus hilarii ''Salminus'', popularly known as dorado or dourado, is a genus of relatively large (up to long), predatory freshwater fish from the family Characidae. They are native to large tropical and subtropical rivers in South America, and undertake migra ...

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 ...

, 1850 – upper Paraná,

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 technology c ...

and

Orinoco 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 ...

basins A fifth extinct species is only known from

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

fossil remains: * †''

Salminus noriegai ''Salminus'', popularly known as dorado or dourado, is a genus of relatively large (up to long), predatory freshwater fish from the family Characidae. They are native to large tropical and subtropical rivers in South America, and undertake migr ...

'' – Argentina

References

Characidae Taxa_named_by_Louis_Agassiz Fish of South America {{Characiformes-stub