Platyurosternarchus is a genus of South American weakly electric fish in the order Gymnotiformes, the knifefishes, generally placed among the ghost knifefishes (family Apteronotidae). The atlas's 2 species run 12–15.5 in and share the group's characteristic body plan: an elongated, laterally compressed body that tapers to a fine, whip-like tail, no dorsal fin, and a long anal fin that undulates to provide propulsion while the body itself stays rigid. Like other gymnotiforms, they generate a weak electric field via a specialised organ, used for electrolocation and communication rather than defence, and are most active after dark. The brief's countries - Brazil, Guyana, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela - point to a broad Amazon and Orinoco basin range.
This is a genus of scientific rather than aquarium interest; it is not established in the hobby trade, and most of what is known about it comes from ichthyological collections and taxonomic revisions of the knifefish order. Both atlas species carry a Least Concern IUCN status, consistent with the wide, multi-country range the genus occupies across South American lowland rivers.