Erythrinus erythrinus (Bloch, Schneider, 1801)

Fig. 13

Body elongated; greatest body depth contained 3.5 to 5.0 and caudal peduncle depth 2.0 to 4.0 times in SL; head length 3.1 to 3.5, predorsal distance 1.2 to 1.7 and caudal peduncle length 10.0 to 12.1 in SL; snout length 2.6 to 3.0, horizontal orbital diameter 1.8 to 4.3 and least interorbital width 2.5 to 2.7 in HL. Mouth terminal; premaxilla with 8-10, dentary with 32-36 and maxilla with 30-33 teeth. Lateral line with 28 or 29 pored scales; transverse series above lateral line with 3-4 scale rows and below with 3 or 2½ scale rows. Dorsal fin with 12, pectoral fin with 15, pelvic fin with 8, anal fin with 10 and caudal fin with 19 rays (Graça, Pavanelli, 2007). Ground color pale brown, dorsal regions darker than ventral; dark-brown rounded blotch, when present, on humeral region. Fins with darkbrown spots, sometimes fused forming irregular transverse stripes, especially on dorsal and caudal fins.

Maximum standard length. 200.0 mm (Graça, Pavanelli, 2007).

Distribution. Coastal rivers of Northern South America, río Orinoco and Amazon basins, Paraná-Paraguay system (Eschmeyer et al., 2017).

Remarks. Erythrinus erythrinus is a non-native species from the upper rio Paraná, and its occurrence can be associated with its introduction as a live bait by anglers.