Tucan fish
| Tucan fish | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Chalceidae |
| Genus: | Chalceus |
| Species: | C. erythrurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Chalceus erythrurus (Cope, 1870) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
The tucan fish (Chalceus erythrurus),[3][4] also called the yellowfin chalceus[5][6] or sardinha,[1] is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Chalceidae. This fish is found in northern South America.
Description
[edit]The tucan fish has a pale-silver body, with bright-yellow ventral fins (hence its other common name); the rest of its fins are some mixture of yellow and red, usually with a reddish tail fin.[7] In terms of size, it reaches 21.4 cm SL.[3] This makes it one of the larger members of the genus Chalceus, outsized only by the pinktail chalceus.
Etymology
[edit]The name "tucan fish" directly translates to "toucan fish", as tucán means "toucan" in Spanish.[8] All members of the family Chalceidae are sometimes referred to as tucanfishes, but C. erythrurus is the species to which it is most often applied.[9]
The genus name Chalceus is Greek, and means "brass" or "copper".[3] The specific name erythrurus also originates in Greek, with eruthros meaning "red" and ouros meaning "tail", in reference to its caudal fin usually being reddish.[10]
Taxonomy
[edit]Upon being described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1870, the tucan fish was placed in the new genus Plethodectes with the full name Plethodectes erythrurus.[11] However, Cope switched it over to the genus Chalceus in 1872.[12]
It was briefly classified as Chalceus macrolepidotus iquitensis, a subspecies of the pinktail chalceus C. macrolepidotus, by Shoji Nakashima in 1941.[13] Henry Watson Fowler described it as Pellegrinina heterolepis in 1907, but Jacques Géry proved it to be a member of the Chalceus genus in 1977.[14][15]
The name Chalceus erythrurus was once mistakenly applied to C. macrolepidotus, and they are sometimes confused with one another.[16] They can be told apart because of the tucan fish's bright-yellow ventral fins, as well as a few other coloration patterns.[7]
Habitat
[edit]The tucan fish can be found in the Amazon and Solimões rivers, and its habitat extends into Peru by way of the Ucayali river.[3][15]
Diet and behavior
[edit]Like others in the genus Chalceus, the tucan fish is primarily a carnivore, targeting aquatic invertebrates (such as insects and crustaceans).[17] It is known to be somewhat skittish, and may jump out of the water on occasion.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Frederico, R.G. (2023). "Chalceus erythrurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T49829799A159100221. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T49829799A159100221.en. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ↑ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Chalceus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Chalceus erythrurus". FishBase. December 2021 version.
- ↑ "ADW: Chalceus erythrurus: CLASSIFICATION". animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
- 1 2 "Yellowfin Chalceus (Chalceus erythrurus)". Aqua-Imports. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
- ↑ Waller, Sara. "Yellow Fin Chalceus (Chalceus erythrurus)". Aquarium Life Support Systems. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- 1 2 "Chalceus, Cuvier, 1817". Plazi TreatmentBank. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ↑ "Translation of tucán – Spanish-English dictionary". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Chalceidae". FishBase. December 2021 version.
- ↑ Scharpf, Christopher; Lazara, Kenneth J. (3 January 2023). "Family CHALCEIDAE Fowler 1958 (Tucanfishes)". The ETYFish Project. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ↑ Cope, Edward Drinker (1870). "Contribution to the Ichthyology of the Maranon". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 11 (81): 563–564. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ↑ Cope, Edward Drinker (1872). "On the fishes of the Ambyiacu River". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 23: 262. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ↑ Nakashima, Shoji (1941). "Algunos peces del Oriente perauno" (PDF). Boletin de Museo Historia Natural "Javier Prado". 16: 62–63. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ↑ Fowler, Henry Weed (1906). "Further Knowledge of some Heterognathous Fishes". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 58: 442–444. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- 1 2 Zanata, A.M.; M. Toledo-Piza (2004). "Taxonomic revision of the South American fish genus Chalceus Cuvier (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) with the description of three new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 140 (11): 103–135. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00090.x.
- ↑ "Pink-tailed Characin". Tropical Freshwater Fish. Mongabay. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ↑ "Chalceus erythrurus (Tucanfish)". Seriously Fish. Retrieved 26 December 2021.