Bryconops disruptus

Bryconops disruptus is a small freshwater fish of the family Iguanodectidae. It is only found in the Rio Negro in South America. Like the rest of the genus Bryconops, B. disruptus is silvery in color, with a relatively deep chest and a notable set of teeth. The specific epithet "disruptus" refers to the incomplete lateral line.

Bryconops disruptus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Iguanodectidae
Genus: Bryconops
Species:
B. disruptus
Binomial name
Bryconops disruptus
Chernoff & Machado-Allison, 1997

Description

Bryconops disruptus is one of the smallest members of Bryconops, measuring about 6.4 cm (2.5 in) in standard length.[1] The only species smaller is Bryconops durbinae, which reaches 3.1 cm (1.2 in) in standard length.[2] It is similar in coloration to Bryconops caudomaculatus, including a similar caudal ocellus (an eyespot on the tail fin), but is overall a darker silver and has a more consistently incomplete lateral line.[3] The number of pored lateral line scales varies wildly, ranging from 9 to 23.[4]

Due to the presence of a caudal ocellus, B. disruptus bears an outward resemblance to B. caudomaculatus, and its small size and general shape make it reminiscent of B. durbinae.[5] However, it can be told apart by various factors; these include fewer precaudal vertebrae (16 in B. disruptus versus 17–18 in B. caudomaculatus) and the lack of a caudal ocellus in B. durbinae.[3]

Taxonomy

Bryconops disruptus has been identified as a member of the genus Bryconops since its description in February 1997.[3] Originally, the genus Bryconops was considered a member of the family Characidae, but research in 2011 prompted a move into the family Iguanodectidae, alongside the genera Piabucus and Iguanodectes.[6] B. disruptus is currently classified as an iguanodectid.[7][8]

Bryconops caudomaculatus, a closely related congener, is at the center of an informal species complex that formed around a history of mistaken identity or synonymy.[5] B. disruptus is a part of this species complex, having drawn multiple comparisons to B. caudomaculatus in its original description.[3]

The specific epithet "disruptus" is in reference to the lateral line, which is regularly incomplete or interrupted.[9] B. disruptus has no accepted common names.[10]

Habitat and ecology

Bryconops disruptus solely inhabits the Rio Negro, a blackwater tributary of the Amazon river.[1] The Rio Negro has very low mineral content, and is very acidic, with a pH ranging from 2.9 to 4.2.[11] The riverbed is stable, with low erosion and very few suspended particulates in the water, and the flora and fauna are generally sparse outside of species like B. disruptus.[12]

Blackwater habitats generally have low oxygen content, which shows that B. disruptus does not need well-oxygenated waters to survive. This is because blackwater conditions are caused by the decay of plant matter leaching tannins into the water, and the microbial activity responsible for said decay consumes a great deal of the available dissolved oxygen.[13][14][15]

Bryconops disruptus's preference for acidic and/or blackwater environments is something it shares with more than a few of its congeners. One of these is Bryconops collettei, which is found both in more acidic blackwaters and rather less acidic clear waters.[16] Another example is Bryconops colaroja, which inhabits waters in the Guiana Shield that lean towards acidity.[17]

Conservation status

The Rio Negro is the world's largest blackwater river, which means that B. disruptus has a wide native range.[18] Though B. disruptus hasn't been evaluated by the IUCN,[1] there is no concern that it will run out of habitable territory anytime soon.

References

  1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Bryconops disruptus" in FishBase. May 2022 version.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2022). Species of Bryconops in FishBase. May 2022 version.
  3. Machado-Allison, Antonio; Chernoff, Barry (July 1997). "Bryconops disruptus (Characiformes-Characidae) una nueva especie de pez de la Cuenca del Río Negro en Brasil y Venezuela". Acta Biológica Venezuelica. 17 (2): 67–75. hdl:10872/17855. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  4. Guedes, Tharles L. O.; Oliveira, Everton F.; Lucinda, Paulo H. F. (14 March 2016). "A new species of Bryconops (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae) from the upper rio Tocantins drainage, Brazil". Neotropical Ichthyology. 14 (2). doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20150176.
  5. Chernoff, Barry; Machado-Allison, Antonio (2005-12-13). "Bryconops magoi and Bryconops collettei (Characiformes: Characidae), two new freshwater fish species from Venezuela, with comments on B. caudomaculatus (Günther)". Zootaxa. 1094 (1): 1–23. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1094.1.1. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  6. Oliveira, Claudio; Avelino, Gleisy S.; Abe, Kelly T.; Mariguela, Tatiane C.; Benine, Ricardo C.; Ortí, Guillermo; Vari, Richard P.; Corrêa e Castro, Ricardo M. (December 2011). "Phylogenetic relationships within the speciose family Characidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) based on multilocus analysis and extensive ingroup sampling". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11 (1): 275. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-275. PMC 3190395. PMID 21943181.
  7. "Bryconops disruptus Machado-Allison & Chernoff, 1997". SiBBr. Government of Brazil. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  8. "Bryconops disruptus Machado-Allison & Chernoff, 1997". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  9. Scharpf, Christopher; Lazara, Kenneth J. (15 September 2020). "Order CHARACIFORMES: Families IGUANODECTIDAE, TRIPORTHEIDAE, BRYCONIDAE, CHALCEIDAE and GASTEROPELECIDAE". The ETYFish Project. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  10. "Bryconops disruptus Machado-Allison & Chernoff, 1997 Names". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  11. Petry, Paulo; Hales, Jennifer. "Rio Negro". Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. Küchler, Ivo L.; Miekeley, Norbert; Forsberg, Bruce R. (June 2000). "A contribution to the chemical characterization of rivers in the Rio Negro Basin, Brazil". Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society. 11 (3): 286–292. doi:10.1590/S0103-50532000000300015.
  13. "Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil". Earth Observatory. Nasa. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  14. "Hypoxic blackwater events and water quality". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Australian Government. 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  15. Mehring, Andrew S.; Kuehn, Kevin A.; Tant, Cynthia J.; Pringle, Catherine M.; Lowrance, R. Richard; Vellidis, George (2014). "Contribution of surface leaf-litter breakdown and forest composition to benthic oxygen demand and ecosystem respiration in a South Georgia blackwater river". Freshwater Science. 33 (2): 377–389. doi:10.1086/675507.
  16. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Bryconops collettei" in FishBase. April 2022 version.
  17. Echevarría, G. 2019. Bryconops colaroja. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T118038882A118038887. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T118038882A118038887.en. Accessed on 7 May 2022.
  18. "Image: The Rio Negro and the Solimões River meet to form the Amazon River". Phys.org. Science X. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
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