Boulengerella

It's known by various vernacular names including 'Pirá-pacu', 'Pira-pucu' or 'Diente de cao' (central Amazon), 'Bicuda' or 'Uena' (rio Tocantins), 'Bicuda' (rio Tapajós), 'Aguejeta' or 'Picua' (Venezuela), and 'Moruwi' or 'Pirapoko' (Guyana). The entire dorsal-fin base is located anteriorly to a vertical through the anal-fin origin and this character distinguishes it from all other ctenolucids except B. lucius and B. xyrekes.

Boulengerella differs from Ctenolucia, the only other genus currently contained in the family Ctenolucidae, by a series of derived features including possession of 87-124 (vs. 45-50) lateral line scales, presence of a strongly (vs. weakly) developed fleshy appendage at the tip of the snout and absence (vs. presence) of fleshy flaps on the lower jaw. Within the order Characiformes the family Ctenoluciidae is also distinguished by a set o...

This species is largely unsuitable for the home aquarium given its eventual size and natural behaviour, and we know of only a handful of private aquarists with the facilities required to house it long-term. Nonetheless juveniles and subadults are sometimes available in the trade although often misidentified as the congener B. maculata.

Both species also possesses a broader dark midlateral stripe on the body which tends to be more well-defined in B. lateristriga than in B. maculata. Colour pattern in B. maculata varies considerably with some specimens noticeably paler than others, for example, and the the broad midlateral stripe usually less intense in such individuals. This does not app...