All FishesPimelodidaeMegalonema  |  | 

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Scientific Name Megalonema platycephalum  Eigenmann, 1912
Common Name
Type Locality Tumatumari, Guyana.
Etymology (Greek)Megas, Megalos=Great + (Greek)nema=filament. This specific epithet refers to its broad(platys=broad, wide) head(kephale, -um=head).
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Size 300mm or 11.8" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification Can be offered for sale under as Piramutana piramuta, this name is currently a junior synonym of the much larger B. vailliantii (although these fish do look similar when young).
General Remarks The maximum size is a reasonable guess (the holotype is 126mm SL).
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution South America: Amazon, Essequibo and Orinoco River basins.
Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Orinoco (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Guyana Waters, Coastal Rivers of Guyanas, Essequibo (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
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Breeding Unreported.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum v. 5 (no. 1), pp150, Fig. 31, Pl. 10 (fig. 2).
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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There are 3 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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Last Update 2020 Sep 19 02:06 (species record created: 2004 Jan 16 00:00)