Prochilodus is a genus of freshwater fish from the family Prochilodontidae

Prochilodontidae

The Prochilodontidae, or flannel-mouthed characins, are a small family of fishes found primarily in the northern half of South America, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina...

. This family include two other genera, Ichthyoelephas

Ichthyoelephas

Ichthyoelephas is a genus of freshwater fish from the family Prochilodontidae. There are two species in the genus: I. humeralis reaches a length of and is found in the Santiago and Guayas river basins in Ecuador, and I. longirostris reaches a length of and is found in the Cauca and Magdalena...

and Semaprochilodus

Semaprochilodus

Semaprochilodus is a genus of South American freshwater fish in the family Prochilodontidae. They have sometimes been included in the genus Prochilodus instead. Of the six species, three are from the Amazon Basin, two from the Orinoco Basin and a single from the Maroni Basin...

, which have been included in Prochilodus instead. The greatest species richness

Species richness

Species richness is the number of different species in a given area. It is represented in equation form as S.Species richness is the fundamental unit in which to assess the homogeneity of an environment. Typically, species richness is used in conservation studies to determine the sensitivity of...

 of Prochilodus is in river basins in eastern, southeastern and southern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, but there are also species in the river basins of the Amazon

Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

, Guianas, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 and northeastern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. The largest species in the genus reach about 80 centimetres (31.5 in) in length, but most species barely reach half that size.

Species

FishBase

FishBase

FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...

 recognize the following species in the genus:

• Prochilodus argenteus
• Prochilodus brevis – Brazilian bocachico
• Prochilodus britskii
• Prochilodus costatus
• Prochilodus hartii
• Prochilodus lacustris
• Prochilodus lineatus
  Prochilodus lineatus
  Prochilodus lineatus is a South American species of ray-finned fish that inhabits the basin of the Paraná River and the Paraguay River in the Argentine Mesopotamia and Paraguay, the Pilcomayo River in Bolivia, and the Paraíba do Sul River in Brazil...
  
  – Streaked prochilos
• Prochilodus magdalenae
  Prochilodus magdalenae
  Prochilodus magdalenae are tropical freshwater fish distributed through Colombia. They are found in the Atrato River, the Sinú River, and in the Cauca and Magdalena Rivers. They have been measured to reach , and reported to reach up to . They have a growing role in fisheries....
  
  
• Prochilodus mariae
• Prochilodus nigricans
  Prochilodus nigricans
  Prochilodus nigricans, or Black prochilodus, is a tropical South American freshwater fish. It occurs in the Amazon and the Araguaia/Tocantins River basins....
  
  – Black prochilodus
• Prochilodus reticulatus – Netted prochilod
• Prochilodus rubrotaeniatus
• Prochilodus vimboides