Mylossoma

Mylossoma is a genus of serrasalmids from tropical and subtropical South America, including the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and Paraguay-Paraná.^[1] These common fish are found both in main river sections and floodplains.^[2] They support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.^[3] They primarily feed on plant material such as seeds and fruits (to a lesser extent invertebrates), and in their ecology they generally resemble the larger tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).^[2] Mylossoma reach up to 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in length^[1] and 1 kg (2.2 lb) in weight.^[2]

Mylossoma Temporal range: Middle Miocene to present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mylossoma aureum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Characiformes
Family:	Serrasalmidae
Subfamily:	Colossomatinae
Genus:	Mylossoma C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903
Type species
Myletes albiscopus Cope, 1872

Fossil remains are known from the Middle Miocene-aged Pebas Formation of Peru.^[4]

Species

There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:^[5][6]

• Mylossoma acanthogaster (Valenciennes, 1850)
• Mylossoma albiscopum (Cope, 1872)
• Mylossoma aureum (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
• Mylossoma duriventre (G. Cuvier, 1818)
• Mylossoma unimaculatum (Steindachner, 1908)