''Ctenolucius hujeta'', also known as silver gar, rocket gar, hujeta gar and freshwater barracuda,
is a slender, medium-sized
freshwater fish found in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
where it is known as "''agujeta''"; Spanish for "shoelace".
Large specimens can reach 30 cm (12 in) in length. This
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
predator, fast yet timid, feeds mainly on small fish. It spends most of its time in the upper layer of the water, very near the surface, in small schools that tend to become smaller as individuals grow and separate.
Amerikanischer Hechtsalmler Ctenolucius hujeta Tierpark Hellabrunn-1.jpg,
Ctenolucius hujeta 3.jpg,
References
External links
Ctenoluciidae
Freshwater fish of Colombia
Fish of Venezuela
Magdalena River
Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes
Fish described in 1850
{{Characiformes-stub