Megalamphodus rosaceus
Megalamphodus rosaceus (Durbin, 1909)
The rosy tetra (Megalamphodus rosaceus) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in northern South America. It is popular in the aquarium trade.
- Also published as
- Hyphessobrycon rosaceus Durbin, 1909; Cheirodon troemneri Fowler, 1942; Hyphessobrycon bentosi rosaceus Durbin, 1909; Hyphessobrycon ornatus Ahl, 1934
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The rosy tetra has a maximum standard length of 3.4 cm (1.3 in). This species and M. bentosi are very similar and can be easily confused. They can be told apart by the presence of a dark humeral spot in M. bentosi which is absent in this species. Males develop elongated fins as they mature and are typically more intensely coloured, larger and slimmer than females.
Range & habitat
The rosy tetra is found in northern South America in Guyana and Suriname, where it occurs in the drainages of the Essequibo, Courantyne and Suriname Rivers. This species appears to prefer clear water streams with slow currents and abundant aquatic vegetation.
In human culture
The rosy tetra is classified in the genus Megalamphodus, which is Greek and means "with spacious ways", a name coined by Carl H. Eigenmann which he gave no explanation for. It may be an allusion to the "very large" fontanels, the frontal bones being described as "entirely separate", that is, with a space between them and the parietal bones. The specific name, roaceus, is Latin and means "made of roses", i.e. rose-coloured, an allusion to the rosy tints on the scales of the lower flanks.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Megalamphodus rosaceus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
References
- Ahl, E. (1934). Beschreibungen zweier neuer Süßwasserfische aus Südamerika. Sitzungsberichte Der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde Zu Berlin, 1934 (nos 4–7): 238–241.
- Durbin, M. L. (1909). Reports on the expedition to British Guiana of the Indiana University and the Carnegie Museum, 1908. Report No. 2. A new genus and twelve new species of tetragonopterid characins. Annals of the Carnegie Museum, v. 6 (no. 1): 55–72. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.331036
- Fowler, H. W. (1942). An account of two new fishes from Brazil. The Fish Culturist, 22.
From the Catalogue of Life (catalogueoflife.org), compiled from its specialist databases; CC BY 4.0. This name in the Catalogue of Life.