Teleostei (teleosts) >
Characiformes (Characins) >
Serrasalmidae (Piranhas and pacus) > Colossomatinae
Etymology: Mylossoma: Greek, mylo = mill + Greek, soma = body (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Spix & Agassiz.
Issue
See Machado-Allison & Castillo (1992: 17) for detailed morphology.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468)
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 39031)
Vertebrae: 38 - 39. This species differs from all its congeners by having the last abdominal spine clearly separated from the anal-fin origin (vs. last abdominal spine reaching the anal-fin origin or almost) and with total vertebrae 38-39 (vs. 35-37) (Ref. 117280).
Considered an omnivore with high tendency to herbivory, feeding mainly on vegetal matter and invertebrates. Reported to be highly fecund, fast growing with high mortality rates in early life stages and undertakes reproductive migrations, and the spawning occurs during the flood season, mainly in white waters rivers and associated wetlands, It is of moderate importance in commercial fisheries (Ref. 117280).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Mateussi, N.T.B., C. Oliveira and C.S. Pavanelli, 2018. Taxonomic revision of the Cis-Andean species of Mylossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903 (Teleostei: Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Zootaxa 4387(2):275-309. (Ref. 117280)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02754 (0.01464 - 0.05181), b=3.05 (2.88 - 3.22), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.5 ±0.23 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).