| Leaffish | |
|---|---|
| Monocirrhus polyacanthus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Polycentridae |
| Genera and species | |
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See text. |
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Leaffishes are small freshwater fishes of the Polycentridae family, from South America.
They usually have large heads, cryptic colors and very large protractile mouths. Those features, along with their peculiar movements help them to catch fairly large prey for the size of their bodies, including small fish, aquatic insects and other invertebrates.
Their odd leaf-like appearance make them interesting fishes for aquarium hobbyists. That is likely because of their unique lifestyle, hanging around in the upper story of the tank imitating the leaves that commonly fall in temperate rivers were it typically lives.
They are extremely agile hunters, capable of consuming prey within a quarter of a second (0.2 seconds) making them one of the worlds fastest fish.
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Polycentrus schomburgkii was formerly included in the Nandidae family, leaf fish of Southern Asia.