Genus · Knifefishes

Sternarchogiton

Sternarchogiton is a genus with 4 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Knifefishes section, recorded from Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. Adult sizes run from 7 in to 15.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
4
Adult sizes
7–15.5 in
IUCN assessed
4 of 4 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
3 countries

About the genus

Sternarchogiton is a genus of weakly electric ghost knifefish (family Apteronotidae) from Amazon and Orinoco basin rivers of South America - the atlas records Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. As in other apteronotids, the fish lack a dorsal fin and swim using a long, undulating anal fin, and they generate a weak electric field through a specialized electric organ used for orientation and communication in the dark or turbid water they typically inhabit. Atlas species run 7–15.5 in, a mid-sized build within the knifefish group.

Sternarchogiton is a genus known mainly to ichthyologists and electric-fish researchers rather than the aquarium trade - none of the four atlas species carries an established common name, a fair marker of how little exposure the genus has had outside specialist study. Some accounts in the wider knifefish literature describe males of certain species developing unusual tooth-like skin projections on the snout, though that trait is not confirmed here for every species, and natural-history data for this deep-channel genus stay generally sparse. Conservation is mostly reassuring - three Least Concern species - with one Vulnerable listing as the exception.

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable · 1 Least Concern · 3

The 4 species

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

de Santana & Crampton, 2007

8.5 in TL · LC

(Steindachner, 1868)

15.5 in TL · LC

Eigenmann & Allen, 1942

12 in TL · LC

de Santana & Vari, 2010

7 in TL · VU

Explore further

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Sternarchogiton. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/sternarchogiton/

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