Biology:Brycon
Brycon is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Bryconidae, and order Characiformes. The fishes in this genus are found in Central and South America, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.[1] Despite not being closely related to true trout, they are sometimes called South American trout.[2] Members of the genus may be referred to by a number of other different common names in various languages. They reach a maximum length of 11.9–79.5 cm (4.7–31.3 in), depending on the species involved.[1] Some species perform seasonal breeding migrations.[3]
They feed heavily on fruits and seeds, but also take other plant material, invertebrates, and small fish.[4][5] Their food is typically taken from the water, but they are able to jump out of the water to "pluck" low-hanging seeds and fruits directly from trees.[2] Some seeds are crushed when eaten, but may also pass undamaged through the fish, making them seed dispersers.[2][4][5]
Brycon support important fisheries, and, based on a review by IBAMA, they are the fifth most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.[3]
One fossil member of this genus is known in Template:†Brycon avus (Woodward, 1898) from the Oligocene-aged Tremembé Formation of Brazil.[6][7] A slightly older potential specimen of B. avus is also known from the Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of the Aiuruoca Basin.[8]
Taxonomy
Cladistically, Brycon is a non-monophyletic genus; some of the species in this genus are actually genetically and morphologically closer to Chilobrycon and Henochilus than to the type species, Brycon falcatus. Thus, phylogenetic analyses using cladistics have rendered Brycon to be paraphyletic or even polyphyletic, and have recommended taxonomic review of the genus.[9][10] The clades within Brycon are grouped based on biogeographic evidence: in prehistory, vicariance lead to the speciation of a trans-Andean "Pacific clade" which also inhabits Central America; the other major clade is the cis-Andean + Magdalena-Cauca Basin clade which includes Brycon falcatus. The latter clades with species of Salminus and thus are closer to them than they are to the other Brycon clade.[11]
Species
File:Brycon hilarii piraputanga rio prata 01.webm
.jpg)
Brycon contains the following valid species:[12]
- Brycon gouldingi (Günther, 1860)
- (Kner, 1863) Lima, 2004
- Brycon guatemalensis Regan, 1908
- Brycon henni Brycon behreae
- C. H. Eigenmann, 1913 Brycon hilarii
- (Valenciennes, 1850) Brycon howesi
- Hildebrand, 1938 Lima, 2017
- Brycon insignis Steindachner, 1877
- Brycon medemi Brycon chagrensis
- Dahl, 1960 Brycon meeki
- Eigenmann & Hildebrand, 1918 Brycon amazonicus
- (Kner, 1863) (Cope, 1872)
- Brycon moorei Steindachner, 1878
- Brycon nattereri Brycon coquenani
- Günther, 1864 Brycon obscurus
- Hildebrand, 1938 Brycon oligolepis
- Steindachner, 1915 Regan, 1913
- Brycon opalinus (Cuvier, 1819)
- Brycon orbignyanus Brycon costaricensis
- (Valenciennes, 1850) Brycon orthotaenia
- Günther, 1864 Brycon alburnus
- (Agassiz, 1829) Angulo & Gracian-Negrete, 2013
- J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1845 Brycon petrosus
- Meek & Hildebrand, 1913 Brycon coxeyi
- Moscó Morales 1988 Brycon posadae
- Fowler, 1945 Fowler, 1943
- Steindachner, 1879 Brycon sinuensis
- Dahl, 1955 Brycon dentex
- Steindachner, 1879 Brycon striatulus
- Brycon argenteus Günther, 1860
- Moscó Morales, 1988 Brycon vermelha
- Lima & Castro, 2000 Brycon devillei
- Lima, 2017 Brycon whitei
- Myers & Weitzman 1960 (Castelnau, 1855)
- Brycon dulcis Meek & Hildebrand, 1913
- Lima & Vieira, 2017 Brycon falcatus
- J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 Brycon ferox
- Brycon atrocaudatus Steindachner, 1877
- Brycon vonoi Brycon unicolor
- (Kner, 1863) Brycon fowleri
- Brycon stolzmanni Brycon rubricauda
- Brycon polylepis Dahl, 1955
- Brycon pesu Brycon melanopterus
Cladogram
The following cladogram based on a 2014 maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of Bryconidae.[13] It recovers the consensus that Brycon is not monophyletic as the genus encompasses multiple lineages:[11]
|
| |||||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2016). Species of Brycon in FishBase. October 2016 version.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Brycons". British Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Brycon.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. ISBN 0-9683958-2-1
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Goulding, M (1980). The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. University of California Press. pp. 68–100. ISBN 0-520-04131-3.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Reysa, P.; Sabino, J.; Galetti, M. (2009). "Frugivory by the fish Brycon hilarii (Characidae) in western Brazil". Acta Oecologica 35 (1): 136–141. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2008.09.007. Bibcode: 2009AcO....35..136R.
- ↑ Abe, Kelly T.; Mariguela, Tatiane C.; Avelino, Gleisy S.; Foresti, Fausto; Oliveira, Claudio (2014-07-08). "Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna". BMC Evolutionary Biology 14 (1): 152. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-152. ISSN 1471-2148. PMID 25005252. Bibcode: 2014BMCEE..14..152A.
- ↑ Malabarba, Maria Cláudia S. L. (1998). "Phylogeny of Fossil Characiformes and Paleobiogeography of the Tremembé Formation, São Paulo, Brazil.". Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes. Part 1 - Fossils and Geological Evidence. pp. 69–84. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267568130.
- ↑ Malabarba, María Claudia de S. L. (2004). "On the paleoichthyofauna from the Aiuruoca Tertiary Basin, Minas Gerais State, Brazil" (in es). Ameghiniana 41 (4): 515–519. ISSN 1851-8044. https://www.ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/848.
- ↑ Abe, Kelly T.; Mariguela, Tatiane C.; Avelino, Gleisy S.; Foresti, Fausto; Oliveira, Claudio (8 July 2014). "Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna". BMC Evolutionary Biology 14 (152). doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-152. PMID 25005252. Bibcode: 2014BMCEE..14..152A.
- ↑ "A phylogenetic analysis of Brycon and Henochilus (Characiformes, Characidae, Bryconinae) based on the mitochondrial gene 16S rRNA". Genetics and Molecular Biology 31 (1). 2008. https://docslib.org/doc/3801944/a-phylogenetic-analysis-of-brycon-and-henochilus-characiformes-characidae-bryconinae-based-on-the-mitochondrial-gene-16s-rrna. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Márquez, Edna Judith; Gómez-Chavarría, Daniel Alfredo; Alzate, Juan Fernando (August 27, 2024). "Exploring the mitochondrial genomes and phylogenetic relationships of trans-Andean Bryconidae species (Actinopterygii: Ostariophysi: Characiformes)". PLOS ONE 19 (8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0300830. PMID 39190628.
- ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron; van der Laan, Richard, eds. "Species in the genus Brycon". California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?tbl=species&genus=Brycon.
- ↑ Abe, Kelly T.; Mariguela, Tatiane C.; Avelino, Gleisy S.; Foresti, Fausto; Oliveira, Claudio (8 July 2014). "Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna". BMC Evolutionary Biology 14 (152). doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-152. PMID 25005252. Bibcode: 2014BMCEE..14..152A.
Wikidata ☰ Q135065 entry
 |  |
