The species of this genus are found in the Neotropical realms.
2.
Over 1, 000 species are found in the Neotropical realm
3.
The "'Neotropical realm "'is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
4.
43 fish families and subfamilies are endemic to the Neotropical realm, more than any other realm ( Reis et al ., 2003 ).
5.
These rainforests are also home to a diverse array of indigenous peoples, who to varying degrees persist in their autonomous and traditional cultures and conservation in the Neotropical realm is a hot political concern, and raises many arguments about development versus indigenous versus ecological rights and access to or ownership of natural resources.
6.
The fishes of this region are largely restricted to the humid tropical portions of the Neotropical realm as circumscribed by Sclater ( 1858 ) and Wallace ( 1876 ), being excluded from the arid Pacific slopes of Peru and northern Chile, and the boreal regions of the Southern Cone in Chile and Argentina ( Arratia, 1997; Dyer, 2000 ).