Red Phantom Tetra - TheLiving Encyclopedia

Megalamphodus sweglesi, commonly known as the red phantom tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in the Orinoco River drainage basin in South America.

📌 Taxonomy

Megalamphodus sweglesi was first formally described in 1977 by the French ichthyologist Jacques Géry, with its type locality given as the River Muco in the upper Río Orinoco basin of Colombia. This family is classified within the suborder Characoidei of the order Characiformes.

📌 Etymology

Megalamphodus sweglesi is classified in the genus Megalamphodus, which is Greek and means "with spacious ways", a name coined by Carl H. Eigenmann which he gave no explanation for. It may be an allusion to the "very large" fontanels, the frontal bones being described as “entirely separate”', that is, with a space between them and the parietal bones. The specific name honours Kyle Swegle, an American fish trader who collected the holotype.

📌 Distribution and habitat

Megalamphodus sweglesi is found in Colombia and Venezuela in the Orinoco basin. It is typically found in clear or tannin-stained water with high visibility, frequently among submerged aquatic plants, in both streams and lentic waters.

📌 Utilisation

Megalamphodus sweglesi is collected for and traded in the aquarium trade.

Quick Facts

Common Names:

Red Phantom Tetra, Red phantom tetra, Swegles's tetra

Class:

Actinopterygii

Data Completeness:

86%

Data Sources

🌍gbif

📚itis

📖wikipedia

🔬eol

🦎inaturalist

References

All references are verified for authenticity. We prioritize peer-reviewed studies, reputable databases (iNaturalist, GBIF), and established encyclopedias.

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