Atlas of Fish of Tapajós and Negro Rivers I: Characiformes

Abstract

This chapter brings photographs and detailed information on 11 families and 84 species of this highly diverse group of fishes, which include some species of commercial and ecological relevance. These fish were sampled through standard 24-hour experimental fishing with gillnets, in lake and river sites (two sites per community) in 16 fishing communities in the Negro and Tapajós rivers (eight communities in each river), including communities located inside and outside protected areas (Extractive Reserves), as illustrated by the maps showing the distribution of fish sampled and fish catches by fishers along the two studied rivers. We also show data from fish landings in all these 16 communities, which were voluntarily recorded by fishers themselves during a participatory monitoring program. The methods used are explained in ► Chap. 2, while ► Chap. 3 brings general results of the fisheries monitoring. We show data on distribution, abundance, fish sizes, length-weight relationship, plus data on fisheries, including fish biomass caught among studied fishing communities, fishing gear use, seasonality, and sizes of fish caught for those groups of species that are exploited for commerce or food purposes. We grouped data for some fish species, which were more difficult to distinguish during sampling. The more diverse families were Characidae, Serrasalmidae, and Hemiodontidae, all of which including species representing a great array of ecological characteristics and importance of use by people. The family Prochilodontidae encompasses two of the most important fish species for food provision to local people in the two rivers.