''Carlastyanax aurocaudatus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of fish in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their s ...

native to the

Río Cauca The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangue in Bolivar Department, and th ...

in Colombia.Thomaz, A.T., Arcila, D., Ortí, G. & Malabarba, L.R. (2015): Molecular phylogeny of the subfamily Stevardiinae Gill, 1858 (Characiformes: Characidae): classification and the evolution of reproductive traits. ''BMC Evolutionary Biology, (2015) 15: 146.'' ''C. aurocaudatus'' is distinguished by several diagnostic morphological features, especially the presence of a hooked third dentary

tooth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, t ...

. This species is the only member of its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

.Mirande, J.M., Jerep, F.C. & Vanegas-Ríos, J.A. (2013): Phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic ''Carlastyanax aurocaudatus'' (Eigenmann) with remarks on the phylogeny of the Stevardiinae (Teleostei: Characidae). ''Neotropical Ichthyology, 11 (4): 747-766.''

References

Tetras Taxa named by Jacques Géry Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Monotypic fish genera {{Characiformes-stub