Erythrinus erythrinus
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Erythrinus erythrinus.jpg
| taxon = Erythrinus erythrinus
| authority = (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
| synonyms =
- Synodus erythrinus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
- Erythrinus brevicauda Günther, 1864
- Erythrinus longipinnis Günther, 1864
- Erythrinus salmoneus Gray, 1854
}}
Erythrinus erythrinus, the red wolf fish, is a relatively small species of trahira (family Erythrinidae) from freshwater habitats in South America.[http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Erythrinus-erythrinus.html Erythrinus erythrinus] at www.fishbase.org.
Range and habitat
E. erythrinus is a South American freshwater fish that is native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers in the Guianas. The species is also reported as native to the Paraná—Paraguay basin, including the Pantanal,Britski, de Silimon, and Lopes (2007). Peixes do Pantanal: manual de identificação. Brasília, Embrapa Informação. {{ISBN|978-85-7383-388-1}}Martins, Cioffi, Troy, Martinez, Moreira-Filho, and Bertollo (2014). Differentiation and evolutionary relationships in Erythrinus erythrinus (Characiformes, Erythrinidae): occurrence and distribution of B chromosomes. Genetics and Molecular Research 13(3): 7094—7101. but the population in the lower Paraná basin and Iguazu basin may be an undescribed species.Casciotta, Almirón, Ciotek, Giorgis, Říčan, Piálek, Dragová, Croci, Montes Iwaszkiw, and Puentes (2016). Visibilizando lo invisible. Un relevamiento de la diversidad de peces del Parque Nacional Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina. Historia Natural, Tercera Serie, 6(2): 5—77. E. erythrinus has been introduced to the upper Paraná basin where not native.Garcia, Hernandes, Silva-Souza, and Orsi (2015). Establishment of non-native predator (Pisces, Erythrinidae) in a tributary of the Upper Paraná River basin, south Brazil. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 10(3): 177-181. It mainly lives in creeks and marshes where the water has a pH of 5.6–7.8.
Appearance and behavior
E. erythrinus can reach a maximum standard length of {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}}, although other reports suggest it can reach about {{convert|25|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}.
It feeds primarily on small fish, insects, and benthic crustaceans.[http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=18500&genus=Erythrinus&species=erythrinus Recorded food items for Erythrinus erythrinus] at www.fishbase.org. Juveniles are aggressive mimics of female aplocheilid killifish, notably Laimosemion agilae, and they use this to catch male killifish that seek a mate.
Brosset, A. (1997). Aggressive Mimicry by the Characid Fish Erythrinus erythrinus. Ethology 103(11): 926–934.
E. erythrinus is not of major interest to fisheries, but is sometimes used as a bait fish and seen in the aquarium fish trade.
Taxonomy
It was described by Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider in 1801,Bloch, M. E. and J. G. Schneider 1801 [ref. 471] M. E. Blochii, Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum. Post obitum auctoris opus inchoatum absolvit, correxit, interpolavit Jo. Gottlob Schneider, Saxo. Berolini. Sumtibus Auctoris Impressum et Bibliopolio Sanderiano Commissum. M. E. Blochii, Systema Ichthyologiae.: i-lx + 1-584, Pls. 1-110. originally under the lizardfish genus Synodus. The species was first placed in Erythrinus in 1854 by Gray (under the name Erythrinus salmoneus, a junior synonym of Erythrinus erythrinus), and this treatment has been recognized by recent authorities such as Osvaldo Takeshi Oyakawa in 2003.Oyakawa, O. T. 2003 Erythrinidae (Trahiras). p. 238-240. In R. E. Reis, S. O. Kullander and C. J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
References
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Category:Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch