Classification / Names
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Teleostei (teleosts) >
Gymnotiformes (Knifefishes) >
Apteronotidae (Ghost knifefishes) > Apteronotinae
Etymology: Sternarchogiton: Greek, sternon = sternon, + Greek, archos = anus + Greek, geiton, -onos = neighbour (Ref. 45335); preto: Name from Portuguese 'preto' for black, refers to the diagnostic dark pigmentation of the species; an adjective, gender masculine.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical
South America: Brazilian and northeastern Peruvian Amazon and Venezuelan Orinoco basins.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 75769); 21.7 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Distinguished from all congeners by having the following characters: very dark brown or purplish black live body coloration; black pectoral-, anal- and caudal-fin membranes; premaxilla with 5 long conical teeth; one row of conical teeth pointing toward the inside of the mouth of dentary; fusion of the supracleithrum and posttemporal; anterior portion of coracoid falling short of the anterior edge of the cleithrum; absence of a prominent tri-lobed structure on the lower lip (Ref. 75769).
Found only in channels and major side branches of large whitewater and blackwater rivers (Ref. 75769).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
de Santana, C.D. and W.G.R. Crampton, 2007. Revision of the deep-channel electric fish genus Sternarchogiton (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae). Copeia 2007(2):387-402. (Ref. 75769)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (16 of 100).