Pterobrycon is a small genus of characins found in Costa Rica and Colombia, distinguished among tetras by the greatly elongated, wing-like fins of mature males, a feature reflected in the common name of the semaphore tetra (Pterobrycon myrnae). The genus's 2 species in the atlas span a wide size range, 1–3 in, and like other characins are schooling fish of small forest streams and rivers.
The elaborated male fins are thought to play a role in courtship display, a distinctive trait that sets the genus apart from most other small Central and South American tetras, though detailed behavioural accounts remain limited. Pterobrycon landoni and P. myrnae are seen only occasionally in the hobby outside dedicated tetra collections, and conservation data are correspondingly thin - one species is Data Deficient and the other is assessed Endangered, indicating a genus restricted enough in range that habitat loss could matter.