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Characiformes (Characins) >
Alestidae (African tetras)
Etymology: Petersius: In naming Petersius Hilgendorf (1894) honored the naturalist and curator Wilhelm C.H. Peters of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (Ref. 127953).
More on author: Hilgendorf.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 2059)
Africa: endemic to lowland regions of the Ruvu and Rufiji rivers in the Pwani Region of eastern Tanzania (Ref. 4967, 127953).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 42032)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 21 - 23; Vertebrae: 36 - 37. Diagnosis: This species is diagnosed by a unique cuspidation pattern of the inner row premaxillary dentition with the cusps of the cutting-edge oriented buccally, vs. lingually oriented in all other alestids, and the possession of a distinctively shaped margin of the supraoccipital with a steep anterodorsal convexity at the junction of the parietals followed by a dorsomedial concavity on the surface of the supraoccipital (Ref. 127953).
Occurs in sandy river courses and floodplain lakes with bushy shorelines with forested or grassy margins (Ref. 127953).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Melo, B.F. and M.L.J. Stiassny, 2022. Systematic review and cranial osteology of Petersius with redescription of P. conserialis (Teleostei: Alestidae) from the Rufiji and Ruvu rivers of Tanzania. Am. Mus. Nov. 3992:1-16. (Ref. 127953)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01148 (0.00528 - 0.02495), b=3.00 (2.82 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.1 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).