Sand knifefish are freshwater
electric fish
An electric fish is any fish that can generate electric fields. Most electric fish are also electroreceptive, meaning that they can sense electric fields. The only exception is the stargazer family. Electric fish, although a small minority, inc ...
of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Rhamphichthyidae, from freshwater habitats in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.
[
Just like most part of the members of the ]Gymnotiformes
The Gymnotiformes are an order of teleost bony fishes commonly known as Neotropical knifefish or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin. Found almost exclusively in fresh water (the ...
group, they also have elongated and compressed bodies and electric organs. The long anal fin actually extends from before the pectoral fins to the tip of the tail. There is no dorsal fin.[
]
Genera
According to FishBase
FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web. there are only 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 ...
in this family,[ but a comprehensive molecular study from 2015 showed that two additional genera belong here (formerly in ]Hypopomidae
The Hypopomidae are a family of fishes in the order Gymnotiformes known as the bluntnose knifefish. They may also be called grass or leaf knifefishes. These electric fish are not often eaten, of little commercial importance, rarely kept as aquar ...
, marked with stars* in list), and this has been followed by recent authorities.Gymnorhamphichthys
''Gymnorhamphichthys'' is a genus of South American sand knifefishes found in the Amazon, Araguaia, Orinoco and Río de la Plata basins, as well as rivers in the Guianas. They inhabit both small streams and large rivers, but usually over a san ...
''
*'' Hypopygus''*
*''Iracema
''Iracema'' (in Portuguese: ''Iracema - A Lenda do Ceará'') is one of the three indigenous novels by José de Alencar. It was first published in 1865. The novel has been adapted into several films.
Plot introduction
The story revolves around t ...
''
*''Rhamphichthys
''Rhamphichthys'' (''Rhamphos ='' Greek for beak and ''Ichthys'' = Greek for fish) is a genus of fish that includes the South American sand knifefish. These fish are eel shaped (or anguiform) with a distinct beak like snout which gave them thei ...
''
*'' Steatogenys''*
See also
* List of fish families
This is a list of fish families sorted alphabetically by scientific name. There are 525 families in the list.
__NOTOC__
A - B - C - D - E - F -
G - H - I - J - K -
L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
- ...
References
External links
Fish of South America
Ray-finned fish families
Weakly electric fish
{{Gymnotiformes-stub