Mylossoma is a genus of serrasalmids from tropical and subtropical South America, including the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, Lake Maracaibo and Paraguay-Paraná. These common fish are found both in main river sections and floodplains. They support important fisheries and based on a review by IBAMA, they are the seventh most caught fish by weight in the Brazilian Amazon.Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M. L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233—302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. They primarily feed on plant material such as seeds and fruits (to a lesser extent invertebrates), and in their ecology they generally resemble the larger tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Mylossoma reach up to in length and in weight.
Fossil remains are known from the Middle Miocene-aged Pebas Formation of Peru.
Species There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus:Mateussi, N.T.B., Pavanelli, C.S. & Oliveira, C. (2016): Molecular identification of cryptic diversity in species of cis-Andean Mylossoma (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part A: DNA Mapping, Sequencing, and Analysis, 28 (5): 778-780.Mateussi, Nadayca T. B.; Claudio Oliveira; & Carla S. Pavanelli (2018). Taxonomic Revision of the Cis-Andean Species of Mylossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903 (Teleostei: Characiformes: Serrasalmidae). Zootaxa 4387(2): 275–309.
Mylossoma acanthogaster (Valenciennes, 1850) Mylossoma albiscopum (Cope, 1872) Mylossoma aureum (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) Mylossoma duriventre (G. Cuvier, 1818) Mylossoma unimaculatum (Steindachner, 1908)
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