Pyrrhulina is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Lebiasinidae, the pencil fishes, splash tetras and related fishes. The species in this genus are found in tropical South America. Several of these species are popular aquarium fish.
Pyrrhulina is closely related to Copeina and Copella, although it is distinguished from the former by having only one row of teeth (Copeina spp. have two). When the genus Copella was established, many species were removed from the genus Pyrrhulina and placed there, because differences in the maxillary bones in the males had been detected. Copella species are slimmer and more elongated than those species that remained in the genus Pyrrhulina.
Species Pyrrhulina contains the following valid species: Pyrrhulina australis C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903 Pyrrhulina beni N. E. Pearson, 1924 Pyrrhulina brevis Steindachner, 1876 Pyrrhulina capim Vieira & Netto-Ferreira, 2019 Pyrrhulina eleanorae Fowler, 1940 Pyrrhulina elongata Zarske & Géry, 2001 Pyrrhulina filamentosa Valenciennes, 1847 Pyrrhulina laeta (Cope, 1872) (halfbanded pyrrhulina) Pyrrhulina lugubris C. H. Eigenmann, 1922 Pyrrhulina marilynae Netto-Ferreira & Marinho, 2013 Pyrrhulina maxima C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1889 Pyrrhulina melanostoma (Cope, 1870) (blackmouth pyrrhulina) Pyrrhulina obermulleri G. S. Myers, 1926
Pyrrhulina punctata , 2026
Pyrrhulina rachoviana G. S. Myers, 1926 (fanning pyrrhulina) Pyrrhulina semifasciata Steindachner, 1876 Pyrrhulina spilota S. H. Weitzman, 1960 Pyrrhulina stoli Boeseman, 1953 Pyrrhulina vittata Regan, 1912 (banded pyrrhulina) Pyrrhulina zigzag Zarske & Géry, 1997
Taxonomy Pyrrhulina was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1846 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes when he described Pyrrhulina filamentosa as a new species, and the only species in the new genus Pyrrhulina. The type locality of P. filamentosa was given as Suriname. Pyrrhulina is classified within the subfamily Pyrrhulinae of the family Lebiasinidae, which also includes the pencil fishes and splash tetras, within the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes.
Etymology Pyrrhulina adds the suffix -ina, which means "to have the nature of", onto pyrrhós, meaning "flame coloured", apparently an allusion to the overall red coour of the type species, P. filamentosa.
Environment Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical.
Specifications Maturity: Lm 2.2 Max length: 5.0 cm SL male/unsexed.
References