''Acestrorhynchus'' ("needle jaw" ) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

characiform Characiformes is an order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

found only in fresh water in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, the sole

in the subfamily Acestrorhynchinae. Their greatest diversity is in the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

and

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

s. These fish have elongated

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

-like bodies and large conical teeth, adapted for predation on other types of fish. They are sometimes referred to as freshwater

barracuda A barracuda is a large, predatory, ray-finned, saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldw ...

s in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade, although the name is used of other characins, as well. They range from in length. Until recently, they were considered the only genus in the family

Acestrorhynchidae Acestrorhynchidae is a family of freshwater fish in the order Characiformes, found in South America. Members of this family are known as freshwater barracudas (not to be confused with the unrelated true barracudas of the Sphyraenidae) and bitin ...

, but phylogenetic studies have recovered several smaller characins previously placed elsewhere in the family (known as " biting tetras") as closely related to them. Common names are ''cachorinho, cachorro, mopiye, payala, pejezorro, pez cachorro, pez zorro'', pike characin, ''moinge, halatawéi, halataway, dagu fisi, ueua, wayabra, zadoe,'' freshwater barracuda, ''saicanga, branca, cajaba, cachorra magra, cadelinha'' and ''dentudo''.

Species

There are currently 14 valid species: * '' Acestrorhynchus abbreviatus'' (

Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

, 1878) * '' Acestrorhynchus altus'' Menezes, 1969 * '' Acestrorhynchus britskii'' Menezes, 1969 * '' Acestrorhynchus falcatus'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

, 1794) (freshwater barracuda, spotted cachorro) * '' Acestrorhynchus falcirostris'' ( G. Cuvier, 1819) (slender freshwater barracuda, big-eyed cachorro) * '' Acestrorhynchus grandoculis'' Menezes &

Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of ...

, 1983 * '' Acestrorhynchus heterolepis'' (

, 1878) * '' Acestrorhynchus isalineae'' Menezes & Géry, 1983 * ''

Acestrorhynchus lacustris ''Acestrorhynchus lacustris'' is a species of fish in the family Acestrorhynchidae. It was described by Christian Frederik Lütken in 1875, originally under the genus '' Xiphorhamphus''. It inhabits the São Francisco and Paraná River. It reach ...

'' ( Lütken, 1875) * '' Acestrorhynchus maculipinna'' Menezes & Géry, 1983 * '' Acestrorhynchus microlepis'' (

Jardine Jardine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Jardine (born 1942), member of the Beach Boys * Alexander Jardine (British Army officer) (died 1799), Scottish army officer and author * Alexander Jardine (Medal of Honor) (1874– ...

, 1841) (pike characin) * '' Acestrorhynchus minimus'' Menezes, 1969 * '' Acestrorhynchus nasutus'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * ''

Acestrorhynchus pantaneiro ''Acestrorhynchus pantaneiro'', known commonly as the pike characin, is a species of fish in the family Acestrorhynchidae. It was described by Naércio Aquino de Menezes in 1992. It inhabits the Río de la Plata, La Plata, Paraná River, Paraná, ...

'' Menezes, 1992

References

Aquarium info
Acestrorhynchidae Fish of South America Fish described in 1903 {{Characiformes-stub