Megalamphodus epicharis
Megalamphodus epicharis, the crystalline rosy tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American tetras. This species is only known to occur in the upper basin of the Rio Negro in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela in blackwater tributaries.
Taxonomy
Megalamphodus epicharis was first formally described as Hyphessobrycon epicharis in 1997 by the American ichthyologists Stanley Howard Weitzman and Lisa F. Palmer, with its type locality given as the headwaters of the Río Baria, around downstream of the Neblina base camp in Amazonas, Venezuela at 0°55'N, 66°10'W from an elevation of. In 2024, this species was reclassified in the genus Megalamphodus which had been proposed by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1915, and is the type genus of the subfamily Megalamphodinae, the red tetras, within the American tetra family, Acestrorhamphidae. This family is classified within the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes.
Etymology
Megalamphodus epicharis is classified in the genus Megalamphodus, which is Greek and means "with spacious ways", a name coined by Carl H. Eigenmann which he gave no explanation for. It may be an allusion to the "very large" fontanels, the frontal bones being described as "entirely separate", that is, with a space between them and the parietal bones. The specific name, epicharis, means "pleasing", "agreeable" or "charming", a reference to the aesthetically pleasing colour and form of this fish.
Description
Megalamphodus epicharis has 8 or 9 soft rays in its dorsal fin and between 23 and 29 soft rays in its anal fin. It has a fusiform body with a maximum standard length of. These fishes have a transparent body which is tinted with red. There is a black humeral spot, the caudal fin is reddish orange, and the dorsal fin is black and white. Males develop longer dorsal and anal fins than fenales, and they are slimmer and brighter in colour.
Distribution and habitat
Megalamphodus epicharis is only known to occur in the upper basin of the Rio Negro in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela in blackwater tributaries.
Utilisation
Megalamphodus epicharis is collected for the aquarium trade.