''Semaprochilodus'' is a genus of

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 ...

n freshwater fish in the family

Prochilodontidae The Prochilodontidae, or flannel-mouthed characins, are a small family of freshwater fishes found primarily in the northern half of South America, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. This family is closely related to the Curimatidae, and i ...

. They have sometimes been included in the genus ''

Prochilodus ''Prochilodus'' is a genus of freshwater fish from the family Prochilodontidae. This family include two other genera, '' Ichthyoelephas'' and ''Semaprochilodus'', which have been included in ''Prochilodus'' instead. The greatest species richness ...

'' instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the

Orinoco Basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...

and a single from the Maroni Basin. Depending on the exact species, they reach a maximum length of . 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 second (after '' Brachyplatystoma vaillantii'') most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2004). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. .

Species

FishBase recognizes the following species in the genus: * '' Semaprochilodus brama'' (

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) * '' Semaprochilodus insignis'' ( Jardine, 1841) (Kissing prochilodus) * ''

Semaprochilodus kneri ''Semaprochilodus'' is a genus of South American freshwater fish in the family Prochilodontidae. They have sometimes been included in the genus ''Prochilodus'' instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the Orinoco Ba ...

'' ( Pellegrin, 1909) * ''

Semaprochilodus laticeps ''Semaprochilodus'' is a genus of South American freshwater fish in the family Prochilodontidae. They have sometimes been included in the genus ''Prochilodus'' instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the Orinoco Ba ...

'' ( Steindachner, 1879) * ''

Semaprochilodus taeniurus ''Semaprochilodus'' is a genus of South American freshwater fish in the family Prochilodontidae. They have sometimes been included in the genus ''Prochilodus'' instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the Orinoco Ba ...

'' (

, 1821) (Silver prochilodus) * ''

Semaprochilodus varii ''Semaprochilodus'' is a genus of South American freshwater fish in the family Prochilodontidae. They have sometimes been included in the genus ''Prochilodus'' instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the Orinoco Ba ...

'' R. M. C. Castro, 1988

References

External links

* Prochilodontidae Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Characiformes genera {{Characiformes-stub