Pristobrycon striolatus is a species of serrasalmid fish.
| Pristobrycon striolatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Serrasalmidae |
| Genus: | Pristobrycon |
| Species: | P. striolatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pristobrycon striolatus (Steindachner, 1908)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Serrasalmo scapularis Gunther, 1864 (misapplied)
Pygopristis gibbosus Starks, 1913
| |
Range and habitat edit
Pristobrycon striolatus inhabits mainly black or acidic waters in tributaries in the Orinoco and Amazon River Basins.
Description edit
This small and beautiful fish reaches 10–30 centimetres (3.9–11.8 in). Its body is discoid with the anterodorsal profile slightly curved or straight. The head is robust and wide. Its snout is blunt. A preanal spine is absent. The adipose fin is wide. The head is silver with metallic orange to red at the mandibular and opercular regions. Its iris is yellow. Its body is greenish laterally and a mixture of orange and red at the abdominal area, covered with "pepper-like" spots. It has a single spot in the opercular area above the pectoral fin origin. The fins have reddish tones. Its caudal fin has an angled basal black band.[1]
Feeding edit
Like other piranhas, P. striolatus is a predator, consuming smaller fish and attacking fins. Juveniles eat aquatic insects and crustaceans (shrimps). Occasionally, its diet includes fruits from the surrounding gallery forest. This is a solitary, non-schooling species.
References edit
- ^ Machado-Allison, Antonio; Fink, William L. (1996). Los peces caribes de Venezuela: diagnosis, claves, aspectos ecológicos y evolutivos. Colección Monografías. Vol. 52. Caracas, Venezuela: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Consejo de Desarrollo Científico y Humanístico. ISBN 980-00-0967-1.