Genus · Tetras

Stethaprion

Stethaprion is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Tetras section, recorded from Brazil, Peru and Colombia. Adult sizes run from 3.5 in to 3.5 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
3.5 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2
Recorded from
3 countries

About the genus

Stethaprion is a genus of tetras in family Characidae from the Amazon basin, recorded from Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. The atlas's 2 species are a matched pair by size, both around 3.5 in, and share a deep, laterally compressed, silvery body - the flattened, disc-like profile behind the common name Palometa applied to S. erythrops, a Spanish word used broadly across South America for silvery, plate-bodied fish. That body shape points to a schooling, open-water lifestyle rather than a bottom- or cover-oriented one.

Neither species has a significant presence in the ornamental trade - Stethaprion is known mainly from ichthyological collections rather than aquarium shops, and detailed hobby care information is thin. Both atlas species carry a Least Concern IUCN status, in keeping with a wide-ranging Amazonian genus that has not drawn specific conservation concern.

IUCN Red List: Least Concern · 2

The 2 species

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

Eigenmann, 1916

3.5 in SL · LC

Cope, 1870

Palometa, Sardina

3.5 in SL · LC

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Stethaprion. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/stethaprion/

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