The serpae tetra ( Megalamphodus eques), also known as the Callistus tetra, red tetra, jewel tetra or blood characin, is a species of freshwater Actinopterygii belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American tetras. This species is found in South America.
Taxonomy
The serpae tetrawas first formally described as
Chirodon eques in 1882 by the Austrian
ichthyologist Franz Steindachner with its type locality given as Villa Bella and Obidos on the Amazon River in Brazil. The genus name should have been spelt
Cheirodon.
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
The serpae tetra is classified in the genus
Megalamphodus, which is
Greek language 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”
Fontanelle, the
being described as “entirely separate”', that is with a space between them and the
Parietal bone bones. The specific name,
eques means "horseman" or "rider", an allusion Steindachner did not explain but which may refer to the saddle like mark on each side, Steindachner used this name for other fishes with similar markings.
Description
The serpae tetra has a maximum
standard length of ,
the body is laterally compressed and high. The overall colour is reddidh-olive brightening to scarley along the flanks. There is a comma shaped black
humeral spot and the
dorsal fin is black,
with the
anal fin and
being red.
Distribution and habitat
The serpae tetra has a disjunct native range, with subpopulations in the Amazon basin of Brazil and in the La Plata basin in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has also been introduced to
French Guiana and eastern Brazil. Its preferred habitat includes slow-flowing tributaries, floodplain lakes and associated flooded environments, it readily colonises anthropogenic aquatic habitats, such as artificial ponds and reservoirs. It is normally found close to submerged aquatic vegetation.
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]
Utilisation
The serpae tetra is one of the most popular fishes in the fish keeping trade but almost all of the fishes traded are captive bred and few are taken from the wild.[
]
See also
-
List of freshwater aquarium fish species
