title: Mylossoma
text: # Mylossoma
  
  Mylossoma is a genus of serrasalmids from tropical and subtropical South America, including the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and Paraguay-Paraná. These common fish are found both in main river sections and floodplains. They support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon. They primarily feed on plant material such as seeds and fruits (to a lesser extent invertebrates), and in their ecology they generally resemble the larger tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Mylossoma reach up to 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in length and 1 kg (2.2 lb) in weight.
  
  ## Species
  
  There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:
  
  * Mylossoma acanthogaster (Valenciennes, 1850)
  * Mylossoma albiscopum (Cope, 1872)
  * Mylossoma aureum (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
  * Mylossoma duriventre (G. Cuvier, 1818)
  * Mylossoma unimaculatum (Steindachner, 1908)
  