The numerous freshwater aquatic ecosystems are home to a unique biological diversity, characterized by their abilities to survive in freshwater environments and by their sensitivity to the physical-chemical changes that the waters in which they inhabit on numerous occasions undergo. These changes are due in many cases to the irresponsible actions that humans commit in river ecosystems around the world. For freshwater fish, conservation protection of their natural habitat is of vital importance, since they fulfill important functions as biological corridors, also acting as semi-permeable membranes that allow and control the flow of matter and energy within the ecosystem.
If you want to know in detail which are the river fish that inhabit the waters of the world's rivers, continue reading this Green Ecologist article in which you will find all the information about the river fish: types, list of names and pictures.
Types of river fish
To know what types of river fish They exist in nature, we can be based on different classifications that attend to various characteristics of these fish. For example, depending on the fat content and nutrients provided by the edible river fish, are distinguished:
- White river fish: They have a low fat content, since they do not make great energetic efforts to survive in the depths of the rivers in which they inhabit.
- Blue river fish: they have a higher fat content, due, among other factors, to their great migratory capacity, which requires a high intake of fat and energy to survive.
On the other hand, it is possible to classify river fish according to the benefit that humans make of them, thus finding edible river fish and ornamental river fish, like the colorful guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) and angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare). If you want to know more about the different types of river fish and from other waters, we recommend you to know the Fish classification with this other article.
In the next sections we will include the names of more species of river fish that inhabit these amazing ecosystems around the world, highlighting some of their most amazing characteristics, such as their ability to go up rivers and spawn in them.
River fish - list of names
Below we show examples of river fish in these lists by countries:
River fish of Spain
- River needle (Syngnathus abaster)
- Gypsy barbel (Luciobarbus sclateri)
- River wolfBarbatula quignardi)
- Common trout (Salmo trutta)
- SturgeonAcipenser sturio)
Argentina river fish (Paraná river fish)
- Goldfish (Salminus brasiliensis)
- Tarpon (Prochilodus lineatus)
- Surubíes (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans)
- Creole eel (family Synbranchidae)
- Mojarras (family Characidae)
River fish of Peru
- Acaronia nassa
- Amblydoras nauticus
- Landonia latidens
- Rhamdia shechetepee
- Brycon atrocaudatus
River fish of Chile
- Aplochiton taeniatus
- Basilichthys australis
- Galaxies maculatus
- Odontesthes mauleanum
- Aplochiton zebra
The largest river fish
In this section we offer a list of names of larger river fish that exist in various river ecosystems around the world:
- Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) - South America
- Crocodile fish (Lepisosteus osseus) - North America
- Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) - Asia
- White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) - North America
- Beluga sturgeon (Spindle spindle) - North America
- Motoro ray, fine ray or river chuchuo (Potamotrygon motoro) - South America
- Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) - North America
- Nile perch fish (Lates niloticus) - Africa
- Taimen fish (Hucho taimen) - Asia
- Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) - North and South America. This species is distributed in the North and South, but it can only be found in river waters in the case of the Amazon River, since in some areas it enters it.
River fish that go up to spawn
Did you know that many fish have the ability to swim upstream great distances to spawn? It is one of the most astonishing reproductive strategies in the fish kingdom, in which individuals of various species of freshwater fishWhen a certain time of year arrives, their biological clocks indicate the need to swim upstream to ensure their reproduction and the survival of their descendants. Some of them even die during the long and strenuous journey against the current that will guarantee the persistence of their species in the wild. Let's get to know some of these river fish species that go back to spawn:
- Eels (Anguilla anguilla)
- Chanquete (Aphia minuta)
- Goby (Goby goby)
- Esperlano (Osmerus espelanus)
- SturgeonAcipenser sturio)
- Silverside (Odontesthes bonariensis)
- Tarpon (Prochilodus lineatus)
- Salmon (genus Salmo)
Finally, if you liked this article about river fish and it has been useful to you, we advise you to learn more about them with these other Green Ecologist articles about curiosities of these aquatic animals:
- How fish breathe.
- Do fish sleep?
- The most dangerous fish in the world.
- What is fish rain and why does it happen?
- 33 fish in danger of extinction.
If you want to read more articles similar to 40 river fish: types, list of names and pictures, we recommend that you enter our Wild Animals category.
Bibliography- Sverlij, S. et al., (2007) The fish of the Paraná-Paraguay Fluvial Corridor. Inventory of the wetlands of the Paraná-Paraguay Fluvial Corridor, pp: 341-352.
- Correa, E. & Ortega, H. (2010) Diversity and seasonal variation of fish in the lower basin of the Nanay River, Peru. Peruvian Journal of Biology, Volume 17 (1).
- López, L. et al., (1987) List of freshwater fish in Argentina. Aquatic biology, Volume 12, pp: 1-50.
- Valdovinos, C. et al., (2012) Spatio-temporal dynamics of 13 native fish species in a lake-fluvial ecotone of the Valdinia river basin (Chile). Gayana Concepción Magazine, Volume 76 (1).
