Paracheirodon

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Paracheirodon

Paracheirodon is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of freshwater

Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
in the characin family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
(family Characidae

Characidae

The Characidae, characids or characins are a Family of Fresh water subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the Order Characiformes....
) of order

Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Characiformes

Characiformes

The Characiformes are an order of Actinopterygii, comprising the characins and their allies. There are a few thousand different species, including the well-known piranha and tetras....
. The type species

Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
is Paracheirodon innesi, the well-known neon tetra
Neon tetra

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solim?es where the water is between 20–26?C....
, and the Paracheirodon species are among the fishes known as tetra
Tetra

Tetra are species of small South American freshwater fish, belonging to the family Characidae and to its former subfamilies Alestiidae and Lebiasinidae....
s. All species of this genus are native to the Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
ecozone
Ecozone

An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeography division of the earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals....
, occurring in several rivers and streams in northern South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

The Paracheirodon tetras reach maximum overall lengths of about 3 cm
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
(1.25 in), and are of elongate tetra shape.

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Encyclopedia

Paracheirodon is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
in the characin family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
(family Characidae
Characidae

The Characidae, characids or characins are a Family of Fresh water subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the Order Characiformes....
) of order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Characiformes
Characiformes

The Characiformes are an order of Actinopterygii, comprising the characins and their allies. There are a few thousand different species, including the well-known piranha and tetras....
. The type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
is Paracheirodon innesi, the well-known neon tetra
Neon tetra

The neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solim?es where the water is between 20–26?C....
, and the Paracheirodon species are among the fishes known as tetra
Tetra

Tetra are species of small South American freshwater fish, belonging to the family Characidae and to its former subfamilies Alestiidae and Lebiasinidae....
s. All species of this genus are native to the Neotropic
Neotropic

In biogeography, Neotropic or Neotropical refers to one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexico lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups....
ecozone
Ecozone

An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeography division of the earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals....
, occurring in several rivers and streams in northern South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

The Paracheirodon tetras reach maximum overall lengths of about 3 cm
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
(1.25 in), and are of elongate tetra shape. All share a distinctive iridescent blue lateral line but differ slightly in their other coloration.

Preferring soft, acidic waters, these midwater shoaling fishes feed predominantly on small crustacean
Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s, insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, worm
Worm

A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long, soft body and no legs. There are hundreds of thousands of species of worms, 2,700 of these are earthworms....
s, and zooplankton
Zooplankton

Zooplankton are the heterotrophic type of plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in the Pelagic zone of oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water....
. When spawning, they scatter their eggs and guard neither eggs nor young.

The generic
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
name Paracheirodon derives from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
χείρ (hand), and οδών (teeth), prefixed with παρά (beside) to distinguish from the similar characin genus Cheirodon

Cheirodon

Cheirodon is a genus of fish in the Characidae family.It contains the following species:* Cheirodon australe* Cheirodon galusdae...
.