Characidae

{{Short description|Family of fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = | image = Lambari-transparente (Charax stenopterus).jpg | image_caption = ''Charax stenopterus'' | taxon = Characidae | authority = Latreille, 1825<ref name = VDLEF>{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}</ref> | type_genus = Charax<ref name = VDLEF/> | type_genus_authority = Scopoli, 1777<ref name = "Cof family">{{Cof family|family=Characidae|access-date=16 September 2025}}</ref> | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies | subdivision_ref = | subdivision = Aphyocharacinae Characinae Cheirodontinae Exodontinae Tetragonopterinae }}

'''Characidae''', the '''characids''', is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers.<ref name="nelson">Nelson (2006)</ref> These fish vary in length; many are less than {{convert|3|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hyphessobrycon roseus (GÉRY, 1960) Yellow Phantom Tetra |url=http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/hyphessobrycon-roseus/ |access-date=12 December 2017 |website=Seriously Fish}}</ref>

The name "characins" is a historical one,<ref>Characinae, recently narrowly defined, covers only twelve genera and 79 species closely related to ''Charax'' (George M.T. Mattox, Monica Toledo-Piza, "Phylogenetic study of the Characinae (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae)" ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'', '''165'''.4:809–915, August 2012).</ref> but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a, by and large, monophyletic group (at family rank). This family includes some of the first characiforms to be described to science, such as ''Charax'' and ''Tetragonopterus'', and thus lend their name to the order, as well as to common names such as "characin" and "tetra".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tetra {{!}} Freshwater, Care & Breeding {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/tetra |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Past taxonomic treatments had a much more expansive definition of the family, including numerous South American fish families such as the piranhas and dorados, as well as the African alestids. Following multiple taxonomic revisions, this was eventually restricted to just the American "tetra" type characins by the 2010s. However, even this definition of Characidae was found to obscure much of the evolutionary diversity within the group, and in 2024 the "tetra" families Acestrorhamphidae and Stevardiidae were split out of the Characidae, leaving it with just five subfamilies.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Melo |first=Bruno F |last2=Ota |first2=Rafaela P |last3=Benine |first3=Ricardo C |last4=Carvalho |first4=Fernando R |last5=Lima |first5=Flavio C T |last6=Mattox |first6=George M T |last7=Souza |first7=Camila S |last8=Faria |first8=Tiago C |last9=Reia |first9=Lais |last10=Roxo |first10=Fabio F |last11=Valdez-Moreno |first11=Martha |last12=Near |first12=Thomas J |last13=Oliveira |first13=Claudio |date=2024-09-01 |title=Phylogenomics of Characidae, a hyper-diverse Neotropical freshwater fish lineage, with a phylogenetic classification including four families (Teleostei: Characiformes) |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/202/1/zlae101/7748269?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=202 |issue=1 |article-number=zlae101 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae101 |issn=0024-4082|url-access=subscription |hdl=11449/301453 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Fricke |first=R. |last2=Eschmeyer |first2=W. N. |last3=Van der Laan |first3=R. |date=2025 |title=ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION |url=https://www.calacademy.org/eschmeyers-catalog-of-fishes-classification |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=California Academy of Sciences |language=en}}</ref>

==Classification== [[File:Aphyocharax anisitsi.jpg|thumb|right|''Aphyocharax anisitsi'' (Aphyocharacinae)]] ===Taxonomy=== The following classification is based on ''Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes'' (2025):<ref name=":13" /><ref name="CofFF">{{Cof family|family=Characidae|access-date=11 May 2025}}</ref><ref name = VDLEF/> <div float="left"> '''Family Characidae'''

{{div col|colwidth=20em}} * '''Subfamily Aphyocharacinae''' C. H. Eigenmann, 1909 ** ''Amazonichthys'' Esguícero & Mendonça, 2023 ** ''Aphyocharacidium'' Géry, 1960 ** ''Aphyocharax'' Günther, 1868 ** ''Cyanogaster'' Mattox, Britz, Toledo-Piza & Marinho, 2013 ** ''Leptagoniates'' Boulenger, 1887 ** ''Paragoniates'' Steindachner, 1876 ** ''Phenagoniates'' Eigenmann & C. B. Wilson, 1914 ** ''Prionobrama'' Fowler, 1913 ** ''Xenagoniates'' Myers, 1942 * '''Subfamily Cheirodontinae''' C. H. Eigenmann, 1915 ** ''Acinocheirodon'' Malabarba & Weitzman, 1999 ** ''Amblystilbe'' Fowler, 1940 ** ''Aphyocheirodon'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1915 ** ''Cheirodon'' Girard, 1855 ** ''Cheirodontops'' Schultz, 1944 ** ''Compsura'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1915 ** ''Ctenocheirodon'' Malabarba & Jerep, 2012<ref name=Malabarba2012>Malabarba, L.R. & Jerep, F.C. (2012): A New Genus and Species of Cheirodontine Fish from South America (Teleostei: Characidae). ''Copeia, 2012 (2): 243–250.''</ref> ** ''Heterocheirodon'' Malabarba, 1998 ** ''Holoshesthes'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1903 ** ''Kolpotocheirodon'' Malabarba & Weitzman, 2000 ** ''Macropsobrycon'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1915 ** ''Nanocheirodon'' Malabarba, 1998 ** ''Odontostilbe'' Cope, 1870 ** ''Prodontocharax'' C. H. Eigenmann & Pearson, 1924 ** ''Protocheirodon'' Vari, Melo & Oliveira, 2016<ref name=Vari2016>Vari, R.P., Melo, B.F. & Oliveira, C. (2016): ''Protocheirodon'', a new genus of Characidae (Teleostei: Characiformes) with the redescription of the poorly known ''Protocheirodon pi''. ''Neotropical Ichthyology, 14 (2): e150154.''</ref> ** ''Pseudocheirodon'' Meek & Hildebrand, 1916 ** ''Saccoderma'' Schultz, 1944 ** ''Serrapinnus'' Malabarba 1998 * '''Subfamily Exodontinae''' Fowler, 1958 ** ''Bryconexodon'' Géry, 1980 ** ''Exodon'' Müller & Troschel, 1844 ** ''Roeboexodon'' Géry, 1959 * '''Subfamily Tetragonopterinae''' Gill, 1858 ** ''Tetragonopterus'' Cuvier, 1816 * '''Subfamily Characinae''' Latreille, 1825 ** ''Acanthocharax'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 ** ''Acestrocephalus'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1910 ** ''Atopomesus'' Myers, 1927 ** ''Charax'' Scopoli, 1777 ** ''Cynopotamus'' Valenciennes, 1850 ** ''Galeocharax'' Fowler, 1910 ** ''Microschemobrycon'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1915 ** ''Phenacogaster'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1907 ** ''Roeboides'' Günther 1864 {{div col end}} </div>

===Former members=== {{cladogram |title=Phylogeny of Characidae from Melo et al. 2015<ref name="Melo et al.">Bruno F. Melo, Ricardo C. Benine, Gabriel S.C. Silva, Gleisy S. Avelino, Claudio Oliveira: ''Molecular phylogeny of the Neotropical fish genus Tetragonopterus (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae).'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, November 2015, doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.022</ref> with clade names from van der Laan 2017.<ref name="van der Laan">{{cite book| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322153430 |page=997 |title=Freshwater fish list |first=Richard |last=van der Laan |format=PDF | edition=23rd |issn=2468-9157 |date= December 2017}}</ref> |{{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%; |label1=Characidae |1={{clade |1=''Spintherobolus'' clade (=Spintherobolidae) |2={{clade |1=Stethaprioninae (=Acestrorhamphidae) |2={{clade |1=Stevardiinae (=Stevardiidae) |label2=Characinae (=Characidae) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Aphyocharacini |2={{clade |1=Cheirodontini |2=Compsurini }} }} |2={{clade |1=Exodontini |2={{clade |1=Tetragonopterini |2=Characini }} }} }} }} }} }} }} |align=left}} This family has undergone a large amount of systematic and taxonomic change. More recent revision has moved many former members of the family into their own related but distinct families – the pencilfishes of the genus ''Nannostomus'' are a typical example, having now been moved into the Lebiasinidae, the assorted predatory species belonging to ''Hoplias'' and ''Hoplerythrinus'' have now been moved into the Erythrinidae, and the sabre-toothed fishes of the genus ''Hydrolycus'' have been moved into the Cynodontidae. The former subfamily Alestiinae was promoted to family level (Alestiidae) and the subfamilies Crenuchinae and Characidiinae were moved to the family Crenuchidae.<ref name="nelson" />

Other fish families that were formerly classified as members of the Characidae, but which were moved into separate families of their own during recent taxonomic revisions (after 1994) include Acestrorhynchidae, Anostomidae, Chilodidae, Citharinidae, Ctenoluciidae, Curimatidae, Distichodontidae, Gasteropelecidae, Hemiodontidae, Hepsetidae, Parodontidae, Prochilodontidae,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Characidae |url=http://shadowraven.net/aquarium/fresh/fish/characin/Characidae.htm |access-date=2019-02-01 |website=shadowraven.net}}</ref> Serrasalmidae, and Triportheidae.<ref name="biomedcentral.com">Oliveira, C., Avelino, G.S., Abe, K.T., Mariguela, T.C., Benine, R.C., Orti, G., Vari, R.P., & Correa e Castro, R.M. (2011): [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-11-275.pdf Phylogenetic relationships within the speciose family Characidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) based on multilocus analysis and extensive ingroup sampling.] ''BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11: 275. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-275''</ref> In 2024, the families Stevardiidae and Acestrorhamphidae, containing a high proportion of the famous ornamental aquarium tetras, were also split out of the family, in addition to the small family Spintherobolidae.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{Commons category|position=left}} {{Reflist|30em}} *{{FishBase family | family = Characidae | year = 2011 | month = October}}  * de Lucena, Carlos Alberto Santos (2003): New characid fish, ''Hyphessobrycon scutulatus'', from the rio Teles Pires drainage, upper rio Tapajós system (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae). ''Neotropical Ichthyology'' '''1'''(2): 93–96. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014557/http://www.ufrgs.br/ni/vol1num2/1%282%29artigo03.pdf PDF fulltext] * Géry, Jacques (1977): ''Characoids of the World''. {{ISBN|0-87666-458-3}} * Nelson, Joseph S. (2006): ''Fishes of the World''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. {{ISBN|0-471-25031-7}}

Category:Characidae Category:Characiformes families Category:Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille