{{Short description|Genus of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|30|0|Oligocene to present|earliest=34}} | image = Brycon hilarii.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | image_caption = ''Brycon hilarii'' | taxon = Brycon | authority = J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844<ref name = "Cof family">{{Cof family|family=Bryconinae|access-date=19 August 2025}}</ref> | type_species = ''Brycon falcatus'' | type_species_authority = J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844<ref name = "Cof family"/> | synonyms = {{Genus list | Chalcinopsis | Kner, 1863 | Megalobrycon | Günther, 1869 | Catabasis |C. H. Eigenmann & A. A. Norris, 1900 | Othonophanes | C. H. Eigenmann, 1903 | Bryconodon | C. H. Eigenmann, 1903 | Triurobrycon | C. H. Eigenmann, 1909 | Holobrycon | C. H. Eigenmann, 1909 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name = "Cof family"/> }}
'''''Brycon''''' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Bryconidae, and order Characiformes. The fishes in this genus are found in Central and South America, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase_genus | genus = Brycon | month = October | year = 2016 }}</ref> Despite not being closely related to true trout, they are sometimes called South American trout.<ref name=bbc>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Brycon |title=Brycons |access-date=9 March 2011 |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |archive-date=3 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203134708/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Brycon }}</ref> Members of the genus may be referred to by a number of other different common names in various languages. They reach a maximum length of {{convert|11.9|-|79.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}, depending on the species involved.<ref name=fishbase/> Some species perform seasonal breeding migrations.<ref name=Lima2003>Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. {{ISBN|0-9683958-2-1}}</ref>
They feed heavily on fruits and seeds, but also take other plant material, invertebrates, and small fish.<ref name=Goulding1980>{{cite book | author=Goulding, M | year=1980 | title=The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History | publisher=University of California Press | pages=68–100 | isbn=0-520-04131-3 }}</ref><ref name=Reysa2009>{{cite journal | last1=Reysa |first1=P. |last2=Sabino |first2=J. |last3=Galetti |first3=M. | title=Frugivory by the fish Brycon hilarii (Characidae) in western Brazil | year=2009 | journal=Acta Oecologica | volume=35 | issue=1 | pages=136–141 | doi=10.1016/j.actao.2008.09.007 |bibcode=2009AcO....35..136R }}</ref> Their food is typically taken from the water, but they are able to jump out of the water to "pluck" low-hanging seeds and fruits directly from trees.<ref name=bbc/> Some seeds are crushed when eaten, but may also pass undamaged through the fish, making them seed dispersers.<ref name=bbc/><ref name=Goulding1980/><ref name=Reysa2009/>
''Brycon'' support important fisheries, and, based on a review by IBAMA, they are the fifth most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.<ref name=Lima2003/>
One fossil member of this genus is known in {{†}}''Brycon avus'' <small>(Woodward, 1898)</small> from the Oligocene-aged Tremembé Formation of Brazil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=Kelly T. |last2=Mariguela |first2=Tatiane C. |last3=Avelino |first3=Gleisy S. |last4=Foresti |first4=Fausto |last5=Oliveira |first5=Claudio |date=2014-07-08 |title=Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=152 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-152 |doi-access=free |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=4109779 |pmid=25005252|bibcode=2014BMCEE..14..152A }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Malabarba |first=Maria Cláudia S. L. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267568130 |title=Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes. Part 1 - Fossils and Geological Evidence |date=1998 |pages=69–84 |chapter=Phylogeny of Fossil Characiformes and Paleobiogeography of the Tremembé Formation, São Paulo, Brazil.}}</ref> A slightly older potential specimen of ''B. avus'' is also known from the Late Eocene/Early Oligocene of the Aiuruoca Basin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malabarba |first=María Claudia de S. L. |date=2004 |title=On the paleoichthyofauna from the Aiuruoca Tertiary Basin, Minas Gerais State, Brazil |url=https://www.ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/848 |journal=Ameghiniana |language=es |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=515–519 |issn=1851-8044}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== Cladistically, ''Brycon'' is a non-monophyletic genus; some of the species in this genus are actually genetically and morphologically closer to ''Chilobrycon'' and ''Henochilus'' than to the type species, ''Brycon falcatus''. Thus, phylogenetic analyses using cladistics have rendered ''Brycon'' to be paraphyletic or even polyphyletic, and have recommended taxonomic review of the genus.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=Kelly T. |last2=Mariguela |first2=Tatiane C. |last3=Avelino |first3=Gleisy S. |last4=Foresti |first4=Fausto |last5=Oliveira |first5=Claudio |title=Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=8 July 2014 |volume=14 |issue=152 |article-number=152 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-152 |doi-access=free |pmid=25005252 |pmc=4109779 |bibcode=2014BMCEE..14..152A }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A phylogenetic analysis of Brycon and Henochilus (Characiformes, Characidae, Bryconinae) based on the mitochondrial gene 16S rRNA |journal=Genetics and Molecular Biology |date=2008 |volume=31 |issue=1 |url=https://docslib.org/doc/3801944/a-phylogenetic-analysis-of-brycon-and-henochilus-characiformes-characidae-bryconinae-based-on-the-mitochondrial-gene-16s-rrna |access-date=10 December 2025}}</ref> The clades within ''Brycon'' are grouped based on biogeographic evidence: in prehistory, vicariance lead to the speciation of a trans-Andean "Pacific clade" which also inhabits Central America; the other major clade is the cis-Andean + Magdalena-Cauca Basin clade which includes ''Brycon falcatus''. The latter clades with species of ''Salminus'' and thus are closer to them than they are to the other ''Brycon'' clade.<ref name="PLOS"/>
===Species=== [[File:Brycon cf amazonicus.jpg|thumb|''Brycon'' cf. ''amazonicus'']] thumb|''Brycon behreae'' thumb|''Brycon henni'' thumb|''Brycon hilarii'' thumb|''Brycon moorei'' thumb|''Brycon rubricauda'' ''Brycon'' contains the following valid species:<ref name = "Cof genus2>{{Cof genus|genus=Brycon|access-date=19 August 2025}}</ref>
{{Linked species list | Brycon alburnus | (Günther, 1860) | Brycon amazonicus | (Agassiz, 1829) | Brycon argenteus | Meek & Hildebrand, 1913 | Brycon atrocaudatus | (Kner, 1863) | Brycon behreae | Hildebrand, 1938 | Brycon chagrensis | (Kner, 1863) | Brycon coquenani | Steindachner, 1915 | Brycon costaricensis | Angulo & Gracian-Negrete, 2013 | Brycon coxeyi | Fowler, 1943 | Brycon dentex | Günther, 1860 | Brycon devillei | (Castelnau, 1855) | Brycon dulcis | Lima & Vieira, 2017 | Brycon falcatus | J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 | Brycon ferox | Steindachner, 1877 | Brycon fowleri | Dahl, 1955 | Brycon gouldingi | Lima, 2004 | Brycon guatemalensis | Regan, 1908 | Brycon henni | C. H. Eigenmann, 1913 | Brycon hilarii | (Valenciennes, 1850) | Brycon howesi | Lima, 2017 | Brycon insignis | Steindachner, 1877 | Brycon medemi | Dahl, 1960 | Brycon meeki | Eigenmann & Hildebrand, 1918 | Brycon melanopterus | (Cope, 1872) | Brycon moorei | Steindachner, 1878 | Brycon nattereri | Günther, 1864 | Brycon obscurus | Hildebrand, 1938 | Brycon oligolepis | Regan, 1913 | Brycon opalinus | (Cuvier, 1819) | Brycon orbignyanus | (Valenciennes, 1850) | Brycon orthotaenia | Günther, 1864 | Brycon pesu | J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1845 | Brycon petrosus | Meek & Hildebrand, 1913 | Brycon polylepis | Moscó Morales 1988 | Brycon posadae | Fowler, 1945 | Brycon rubricauda | Steindachner, 1879 | Brycon sinuensis | Dahl, 1955 | Brycon stolzmanni | Steindachner, 1879 | Brycon striatulus | (Kner, 1863) | Brycon unicolor | Moscó Morales, 1988 | Brycon vermelha | Lima & Castro, 2000 | Brycon vonoi | Lima, 2017 | Brycon whitei | Myers & Weitzman 1960 }} ===Cladogram=== The following cladogram based on a 2014 maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of Bryconidae.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=Kelly T. |last2=Mariguela |first2=Tatiane C. |last3=Avelino |first3=Gleisy S. |last4=Foresti |first4=Fausto |last5=Oliveira |first5=Claudio |title=Systematic and historical biogeography of the Bryconidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes) suggesting a new rearrangement of its genera and an old origin of Mesoamerican ichthyofauna |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |date=8 July 2014 |volume=14 |issue=152 |article-number=152 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-152 |doi-access=free |pmid=25005252 |pmc=4109779 |bibcode=2014BMCEE..14..152A }}</ref> It recovers the consensus that ''Brycon'' is not monophyletic as the genus encompasses multiple lineages:<ref name="PLOS">{{cite journal |last1=Márquez |first1=Edna Judith |last2=Gómez-Chavarría |first2=Daniel Alfredo |last3=Alzate |first3=Juan Fernando |title=Exploring the mitochondrial genomes and phylogenetic relationships of trans-Andean Bryconidae species (Actinopterygii: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) |journal=PLOS ONE |date=August 27, 2024 |volume=19 |issue=8 |article-number=e0300830 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0300830 |pmid=39190628 |doi-access=free |pmc=11349099 }}</ref> {{clade |1={{clade hidden|mode=left|id=1|expand-text='''''Brycon''''' + ''Chilobrycon'' |1=''Brycon chagrensis'' |2={{clade |1=''Brycon petrosus'' |2={{clade |1=''Chilobrycon deuterodon'' |2={{clade |1=''Brycon aff. atrocaudatus'' |2=''Brycon henni'' }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Salminus'' |2={{clade hidden|mode=left|id=3|expand-text='''''Brycon''''' + ''Henochilus'' |1=''Brycon pesu'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Brycon moorei'' |2={{clade |1=''Brycon orthotaenia'' |2=''Brycon orbygnianus'' |3=''Brycon hilarii'' |4=''Brycon gouldingi'' |5=''Brycon amazonicus'' }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Brycon falcatus'' (Type) |2=''Brycon melanopterus'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Brycon opalinus'' |2={{clade |1=''Brycon nattereri'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Henochilus wheatlandii'' |2=''Brycon sp.'' }} |2={{clade |1=''Brycon vermelha'' |2=''Brycon insignis'' |3=''Brycon ferox'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
==References== {{Commons category|Brycon}} {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q135065}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Brycon Category:Bryconinae Category:Freshwater fish genera Category:Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller Category:Taxa named by Franz Hermann Troschel Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot