''Sternarchogiton'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of weakly electric knifefish in the family

Apteronotidae 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 ...

, all living in the main channel of large rivers 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

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

basins in South America. They have a blunt snout and depending on the exact species reach up to in total length. The adult males of ''S. nattereri'' have teeth on the outside of the jaw, believed to be used in fights with other males, and it was formerly placed in its own genus because of this unique feature. ''Sternarchogiton'' are distinguished from other apteronotid genera by details of the

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

and the broad descending blades of the

pterygiophore A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine biology, marine environments, so the fins are not all Homology (biol ...

s in the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

. They are related to the genera '' Adontosternarchus'' and ''

Porotergus ''Porotergus'' is a genus of ghost knifefishes found in the Amazon 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 ...

''.

Species

''Sternarchogiton'' contains the following valid species: * '' Sternarchogiton labiatus'' de Santana & Crampton, 2007 * ''

Sternarchogiton nattereri ''Sternarchogiton nattereri'' is a species of weakly electric fish, weakly electric Gymnotiformes, knifefish in the family Apteronotidae. It is native to the Amazon basin, Amazon River system and feeds on sponges. Unlike other members of the genu ...

'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1868) * '' Sternarchogiton porcinum'' C. H. Eigenmann & W. R. Allen, 1942 * '' Sternarchogiton zuanoni'' de Santana &

Vari Vari () is a southern suburb of Athens and former municipality in East Attica, Greece along the Athens coast. The ancient Athenian deme of Anagyrous was situated here. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Vo ...

, 2010

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3023519 Apteronotidae Fish of South America Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann