''Porotergus'' is a genus of

ghost knifefish The ghost knifefishes consist of the family Apteronotidae, which are ray-finned fishes in the order Gymnotiformes. These fish are native to Panama and South America. They inhabit a wide range of freshwater habitats, but more than half the specie ...

es found in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and Essequibo basins in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

South America. They are found over sandy bottoms in shallow (''P. gymnotus'') or deep rivers (two remaining). They feed on small aquatic insect larvae. They have a stubby snout and are fairly small knifefish, with the largest species reaching up to in total length.

Species

There are currently three described species in this genus: * '' Porotergus duende'' de Santana & Crampton, 2010 * '' Porotergus gimbeli'' M. M. Ellis, 1912, named for Jacob Gimbel, who financed the expedition on which it was discovered. * '' Porotergus gymnotus'' M. M. Ellis, 1912

UCLA flag pole

The base of UCLA's central flag pole, a gift to the university from Jacob Gimbel, features a brass plaque depicting ''P. gimbeli''.

References

Apteronotidae Freshwater fish of South America Ray-finned fish genera Taxa named by Max Mapes Ellis {{Gymnotiformes-stub