Distichodontidae
| Distichodontidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Distichodus maculatus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Suborder: | Citharinoidei |
| Family: | Distichodontidae Günther, 1864 |
| Genera | |
|
17, see text | |
The Distichodontidae are a family of African freshwater fishes of the order Characiformes.[1]
Two evolutionary grades are found in this family; micropredators (predators of very small organisms like aquatic insect larvae) and herbivores have a nonprotractile upper jaw and a deep to shallow body, while carnivores have a movable upper jaw and an elongated body.[1] Although the herbivores primarily feed on plant material, these species often have omnivorous tendencies. The carnivores include specialized fish-eaters (genus Mesoborus), fin-eaters (Belonophago, Eugnathichthys and Phago) and species that will feed on both whole fish and fins (Ichthyborus). The fin-eaters attack other fish, even ones that are much larger, where they bite off pieces of fins with their sharp teeth.[2][3][4]
The fish in Distichodontidae vary greatly in size among species, with the smallest micropredators being less than 8 cm (3.1 in) in length, and the largest herbivores can reach up to 83 cm (33 in).[5]
Genera
[edit]The 16 genera include about 110 species:[6][7]
- Genus Belonophago Giltay, 1929 (two species)
- Genus Congocharax Matthes, 1964 (two species)
- Genus Distichodus J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 (23 species)
- Genus Dundocharax Poll, 1967 (one species)
- Genus Eugnathichthys Boulenger, 1898 (three species)
- Genus Hemigrammocharax (10 species)
- Genus Ichthyborus Günther, 1864 (four species)
- Genus Mesoborus Pellegrin, 1900 (one species)
- Genus Microstomatichthyoborus Nichols & Griscom, 1917 (two species)
- Genus Monostichodus Vaillant, 1886 (three species) [8]
- Genus Nannaethiops Günther, 1872 (two species)
- Genus Nannocharax Günther, 1867 (28 species)
- Genus Neolebias Steindachner, 1894 (11 species)
- Genus Paradistichodus Pellegrin, 1922 (one species)
- Genus Paraphago Boulenger, 1899 (one species)
- Genus Phago Günther, 1865 (three species)
- Genus Xenocharax Günther, 1867 (two species)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Nelson, Joseph, S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lavoué, S.; M.E.Arnegard; D.L. Rabosky; P.B. McIntyre; D. Arcila; R.P. Vari; M. Nishida (2017). Trophic evolution in African citharinoid fishes (Teleostei: Characiformes) and the origin of intraordinal pterygophagy. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 113: 23-32. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.05.001
- ^ Matthes, H. (1961). Feeding Habit of Some Central African Freshwater Fishes. Nature 192: 78–80.
- ^ Arroyave, J.; M.L.J. Stiassny (2014). DNA barcoding reveals novel insights into pterygophagy and prey selection in distichodontid fishes (Characiformes: Distichodontidae). Ecology and evolution 4(23): 4534–4542. doi:10.1002/ece3.1321
- ^ Weitzman, S.H.; Vari, R.P. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 101. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ "CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily". researcharchive.calacademy.org.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Distichodontidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ Musschoot, T. & Snoeks, J. (2016): Re-establishment of the genus Monostichodus Vaillant 1886 (Characiformes, Distichodontidae). Journal of Fish Biology, 90 (3): 1080-1082.
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