The Erythrinidae are a
family of
fishes found in
rivers and other freshwater habitats from
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
south as far as
Argentina. 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
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
:
*''
Erythrinus
''Erythrinus'' is a genus of relatively small trahiras, freshwater fish from tropical South America.
Species
There are currently two recognized species in this genus, but a possibly undescribed species
In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a ...
''
*''
Hoplerythrinus
''Hoplerythrinus'' is a genus of trahiras found in Central and South America. The currently described species in this genus are:
* '' Hoplerythrinus cinereus'' ( T. N. Gill, 1858)
* '' Hoplerythrinus gronovii'' (Valenciennes
Valenciennes ( ...
''
*''
Hoplias
''Hoplias'' is a genus of fish in the family Erythrinidae found in Central and South America.
Species
There are currently 13 recognized species in this genus:
* '' Hoplias aimara'' (Valenciennes, 1847)
* '' Hoplias australis'' Oyakawa & Mat ...
'' - giant trahiras
References
* Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). ''
Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...
''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
External links
Fish of South America
{{Characiformes-stub