The Erythrinidae are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
es found in
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
s and other freshwater habitats from
Costa Rica south as far as
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. They are common and are caught with hooks by fishermen, partially because of their voracious behaviour. They are sometimes called ''trahiras'' (also spelled trairas) or ''tarariras''.
The Erythrinidae include cylindrical fish with blunt heads, and prey on other fish. They can reach lengths up to . Some species can breathe air, enabling them to survive in water low in oxygen,
and even to move over land between ponds.
Species
The 16 species are contained in three
genera:
*''
Erythrinus''
*''
Hoplerythrinus''
*''
Hoplias'' - giant trahiras
References
* Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). ''
Fishes of the World''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
External links
Fish of South America
{{Characiformes-stub