Acestrorhynchus microlepis
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Characiformes (Characins)
Acestrorhynchidae (Pike-Characins)
Acestrorhynchus
Acestrorhynchus microlepis
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Possesses a minute spot behind the opercle; lateral line scales 91-131; small eye 17.9-34.1% head length; snout length 32.5-50.0% head length (Ref. 52916).
Distribution
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins and rivers of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. benthopelagic. Found in: streams.
Biology
Common in black and clear water streams and rivers, as well as lagoons and other off-channel habitats associated with whitewater rivers (Ref. 52916). Prefers slow currents and a silty or sandy bottom. Like other species of the genus, it is a formidable predator (Ref. 12225). Strict piscivore; however, it consumes insects during the dry periods of the year (Ref. 27188).
Max length: 37.0 cm TL; max weight: 230 g.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020-02-13. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Val, A.L. and V.M.F. de Almeida-Val (1995) Fishes of the Amazon and their environment: physiological and biochemical aspect. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Germany. 245 p.
Menezes, N.A. (2003) Family Acestrorhynchidae (Acestrorhynchids). p. 231-233. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
López-Fernández, H. and K.O. Winemiller (2003) Morphological variation in Acestrorhynchus microlepis and A. falcatus (Characiformes: Acestrorhynchidae), reassessment of A. apurensis and distribution of Acestrorhynchus in Venezuela. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 14(3):193-208.
Freitas, T.M.S., B.S. Prudente, N.F. Fontoura and L.F.A. Montag (2014) Length-weight relationships of dominant fish species from Caxiuaña National Forest, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 30:1081-1083. DOI: 10.1111/jai.12436
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