Pseudocurimata

Pseudocurimata is a genus with 6 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Piranhas & Pacus section, recorded from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Adult sizes run from 4.5 in to 8 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
6
Adult sizes
4.5–8 in
IUCN assessed
6 of 6 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
3 countries

About the genus

Pseudocurimata is a genus of curimatid characins - small, silvery, toothless fish that graze detritus and algae-covered biofilm from submerged surfaces and sediment rather than hunting prey, a feeding style shared across the wider Curimatidae family. Atlas species run 4.5–8 in and, in the atlas, are confined to Pacific-slope river drainages of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru rather than the Amazon or Orinoco basins that hold most of their curimatid relatives. That narrower Pacific-slope distribution is unusual for the family and leaves the genus more exposed to localized habitat change than curimatids spread across the wider Amazon.

Pseudocurimata is a genus of scientific rather than aquarium interest - its members are not part of the ornamental trade, and Pseudocurimata boehlkei (dica) and Pseudocurimata troschelii (boquiche) are known mainly as regional food or bait fish in parts of their range rather than as hobby fish. The conservation picture is genuinely concerning for a genus this size: of the six atlas species, only one is confirmed Least Concern, two are Near Threatened, one is Endangered, and the remaining two are Data Deficient or Not Evaluated - a pattern consistent with small-range fish in Pacific-slope drainages under pressure from damming, deforestation, and water pollution.

IUCN Red List: Endangered · 1 Near Threatened · 2 Least Concern · 1 Data Deficient · 1 Not Evaluated · 1

The 6 species

Every Pseudocurimata recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Vari, 1989

Dica

4.5 in TL · DD

(Eigenmann, 1907)

5.5 in SL · NT

(Boulenger, 1911)

6.5 in TL · LC

(Eigenmann, 1914)

5 in SL · EN

(Eigenmann, 1922)

5 in TL · NT

(Günther, 1860)

Boquiche

8 in TL · NE

Explore further

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Pseudocurimata. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/pseudocurimata/

← All Piranhas & Pacus