About Brycon hilarii (Valenciennes, 1850)
Brycon is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Bryconidae and the order Characiformes. Fish of this genus live in Central and South America, distributed from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Though they are not closely related to true trout, they are sometimes called South American trout. Members of this genus have many different common names across various languages. Different Brycon species reach maximum lengths ranging from 11.9 to 79.5 cm, or 4.7 to 31.3 inches. Some Brycon species carry out seasonal breeding migrations. Brycon feed primarily on fruits and seeds, but will also eat other plant material, invertebrates, and small fish. They usually take food from the water, but can jump out of water to pluck low-hanging seeds and fruits directly from trees. When eaten, some seeds are crushed, while others pass through the fish undamaged, which makes Brycon effective seed dispersers. Brycon support important fisheries, and according to an IBAMA review, they rank fifth by weight among fish caught in the Brazilian Amazon. One fossil species of the genus is the extinct †Brycon avus, first described in 1898 from the Oligocene Tremembé Formation of Brazil. A slightly older possible specimen of B. avus has also been found in Late Eocene/Early Oligocene deposits of the Aiuruoca Basin.
