Pterophyllum leopoldi, also referred to as the teardrop angelfish, Leopold's angelfish[1] dwarf angelfish, or roman-nosed angelfish,[2] is an angelfish species native to the Amazon River (between Manacapuru and Santarém), Essequibo River and Rupununi River.[3]

Pterophyllum leopoldi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Pterophyllum
Species:
P. leopoldi
Binomial name
Pterophyllum leopoldi
(J. P. Gosse, 1963)
Synonyms
  • Plataxoides leopoldi J. P. Gosse, 1963

It is distinguished from other members of the genus Pterophyllum by the absence of a pre-dorsal notch, and by the presence of a black blotch at the dorsal insertion on the 4th vertical bar.[1]

The species is frequently misidentified as P. dumerilii when it is imported in the aquarium trade.[4] P. leopoldi is the smallest of the angelfish species, reaching a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) SL and a height of 15 centimetres (5.9 in)SL.[3]

The specific name honours King Leopold III of Belgium, who sponsored the expedition to the Amazon that collected the type of this species.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (2007-04-10). "Pterophyllum leopoldi (Gosse, 1963)". The Cichlid Room Companion. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  2. ^ "Angelfish: new names, new species". Tropical Fish Finder. 2007-02-21. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  3. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pterophyllum leopoldi". FishBase. April 2013 version.
  4. ^ Hougen, Dean (May–June 1994). "Cichlids of the New World: An Unexpected Acara and Part II - High-bodied Acaras". Aqua News. the Minnesota Aquarium Society. Archived from the original on 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  5. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily CICHLINAE (d-w)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 11 November 2018.