Bryconops imitator Chernoff & Machado-Allison, 2002

Family:  Iguanodectidae ("Lizard bite tetras")
Max. size:  7.56 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  South America: Caura River basin in Venezuela.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-11; Anal soft rays: 26-30; Vertebrae: 40-42. Distinguished from all other congeners, except B. colaroja, by its red caudal fin and greenish-silver body. Differs from all other Creatochanes, including B. colaroja, by the following combination of characters: posterior extension of maxilla not reaching vertical through articulation between second and third infraorbital; third infraorbital not contacting preopercle ventrally or at angle; 17-19 circumdorsal scales; no humeral mark; no caudal fin ocellus; anal fin pigment dense but restricted to margins of fin rays, not forming band; 18-19, rarely 20 precaudal vertebrae; anal fin originating under 18-19th centrum, rarely 20; dorsal fin originating above 10th, rarely 11th centrum; cheeks absence of conspicuous blotch of pigment ; caudal fin lobes equal in length (Ref. 47228).
Biology:  Occurs in large river habitats in swift current and in rapids among dense stands of the rooted vascular Podostemonaceae, as wells as in small streams with current. Also inhabits small streams, rapids, bays and backwaters over sand, gravel and rocky bottoms (Ref. 47228).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 07 August 2019 (B1b(iii)+2b(iii)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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