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Teleostei (teleosts) > Gymnotiformes (Knifefishes) > Apteronotidae (Ghost knifefishes) > Apteronotinae
Etymology: Compsaraia: Greek, kompsos, -e, -on = elegance, polish, gracefulness + see under Raja; iara: Named after the Iara, a water nymph from Tupi-Brazilian folklore said to reside in the rivers of the Brazilian Amazon and often blamed for the disappearance of fishermen. A noun in apposition.
Eponymy: Iara, also spelled Uiara or Yara, is a water nymph in Brazilian folklore. She is said to reside in rivers and is often blamed for the disappearance of fishermen. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; depth range 2 - 30 m (Ref. 115978). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

South America: Amazon River basin in Brazil.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 23.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 115978)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Anal soft rays: 155 - 174. Compsaraia iara is easily diagnosed from all species of Compsaraia by the following characters: forehead strongly rounded with dorsal margin of frontals and parasphenoid convex (vs. straight or concave in adult C. compsa and C. samueli); mouth small, gape not reaching vertical with eye in adults (vs. reaching or exceeding vertical with eye in adult C. compsa and C. samueli); absence of premaxilla teeth (vs. 8-16 premaxilla teeth in C. compsa and 4-10 in C. samueli (Ref. 115978).

Found in white waters at depths ranging from 2- 30 meters. Feeds exclusively on dipteran (Ceratopogonidae) larvae mixed with very fine sand, suggesting a benthic foraging behavior (Ref. 115978).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Albert, James S. | Collaborators

Bernt, M.J. and J.S. Albert, 2017. A new species of deep-channel electric knifefish Compsaria (Apteronotidae, Gymnotiformes) from the Amazon River. Copeia 105(2):211-219. (Ref. 115978)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 October 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Life cycle
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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Distribution
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Anatomy
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Physiology
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Genetics
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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.6250 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00145 - 0.00867), b=3.06 (2.85 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-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 (14 of 100).

Compsaraia iara Bernt & Albert, 2017