Characidae, the characids, is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

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 ...

belonging to the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Characiformes Characiformes is an order of 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.: "Relationsh ...

. They are found throughout much of Central and

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 ...

, including such major waterways as the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and

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 ...

Rivers.Nelson (2006) These fish vary in length; many are less than . The name " characins" is a historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a, by and large,

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group (at family rank). This family includes some of the first characiforms to be described to science, such as '' Charax'' and ''

Tetragonopterus ''Tetragonopterus'' is a genus of fish in the family Characidae native to South America. It is the only member of the subfamily Tetragonopterinae. The subfamily was originally much larger as previously defined, and contained many of the genera ...

'', and thus lend their name to the order, as well as to common names such as "characin" and "

tetra Tetra is the common name of many small freshwater characiform fishes. Tetras come from Africa, Central America, and South America, belonging to the biological families Characidae, Alestidae (the "African tetras"), Lepidarchidae, Lebiasi ...

". Past taxonomic treatments had a much more expansive definition of the family, including numerous South American fish families such as the

piranhas A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although o ...

and

dorados Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, simply known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It plays in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. History Dorados de Sinaloa ...

, 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 Acestrorhamphidae, the American tetras, are a diverse family of freshwater fish in the order Characiformes. They are native to North and South America, from the southwestern United States south to temperate Argentina, with a few species introduc ...

and

Stevardiidae Stevardiidae is a large family of freshwater fish in the order Characiformes. It includes many genera previously placed in the family Characidae, which was split into multiple families in 2024. They are found throughout South and Central Americ ...

were split out of the Characidae, leaving it with just five subfamilies.

Classification

Taxonomy

The following classification is based on ''

Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

'' (2025):

Family Characidae * Subfamily Aphyocharacinae Eigenmann, 1909 ** '' Amazonichthys'' Esguícero & Mendonça, 2023 ** '' Aphyocharacidium''

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 ...

, 1960 ** '' Aphyocharax'' Günther, 1868 ** '' Cyanogaster'' Mattox, Britz, Toledo-Piza & Marinho, 2013 ** '' Leptagoniates'' Boulenger, 1887 ** '' Paragoniates''

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1876 ** '' Phenagoniates'' Eigenmann & Wilson, 1914 ** '' Prionobrama'' Fowler, 1913 ** '' Xenagoniates''

Myers Myers as a surname has several possible origins, e.g. Old French ("physician"), Old English ("mayor"), and Old Norse ("marsh"). People * Abram F. Myers (1889–after 1960), chair of the Federal Trade Commission and later general counsel and b ...

, 1942 * Subfamily Cheirodontinae Eigenmann, 1915 ** '' Acinocheirodon'' Malabarba & Weitzman, 1999 ** '' Amblystilbe'' Fowler, 1940 ** '' Aphyocheirodon'' Eigenmann, 1915 ** '' Cheirodon'' Girard, 1855 ** '' Cheirodontops'' Schultz, 1944 ** '' Compsura'' Eigenmann, 1915 ** '' Ctenocheirodon'' Malabarba & Jerep, 2012Malabarba, L.R. & Jerep, F.C. (2012): A New Genus and Species of Cheirodontine Fish from South America (Teleostei: Characidae). ''Copeia, 2012 (2): 243–250.'' ** '' Heterocheirodon'' Malabarba, 1998 ** '' Holoshesthes'' Eigenmann, 1903 ** '' Kolpotocheirodon'' Malabarba & Weitzman, 2000 ** '' Macropsobrycon'' Eigenmann, 1915 ** '' Nanocheirodon'' Malabarba, 1998 ** '' Odontostilbe''

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 ...

, 1870 ** '' Prodontocharax'' Eigenmann & Pearson, 1924 ** '' Protocheirodon'' Vari, Melo & Oliveira, 2016Vari, 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.'' ** '' Pseudocheirodon'' Meek & Hildebrand, 1916 ** '' Saccoderma'' Schultz, 1944 ** '' Serrapinnus'' Malabarba 1998 * Subfamily Exodontinae Fowler, 1958 ** '' Bryconexodon'' Géry, 1980 ** '' Exodon''

Müller Müller may refer to: Companies * Müller (company), a German multinational dairy company ** Müller Milk & Ingredients, a UK subsidiary of the German company * Müller (store), a German retail chain * GMD Müller, a Swiss aerial lift manufacturi ...

& Troschel, 1844 ** '' Roeboexodon'' Géry, 1959 * Subfamily Tetragonopterinae

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

, 1858 ** ''

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

, 1816 * Subfamily

Characinae Characidae, the characids, is a Family (biology), family of Fresh water, freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the Order (biology), order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central America, Central and South America, ...

Latreille, 1825 ** ''

Acanthocharax ''Acanthocharax'' is a genus of fish in the family Characidae. It contains the single species ''Acanthocharax microlepis'', which is endemic to Guyana, where it is found in the Essequibo River The Essequibo River (; originally called by Alonso ...

'' Eigenmann, 1912 ** ''

Acestrocephalus ''Acestrocephalus'' is a genus of characins from South America, with eight currently described species: * ''Acestrocephalus acutus'' Naércio Aquino de Menezes, Menezes, 2006 * ''Acestrocephalus anomalus'' (Franz Steindachner, Steindachner, 1880) ...

'' Eigenmann, 1910 ** '' Atopomesus'' Myers, 1927 ** '' Charax''

Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Au ...

, 1777 ** ''

Cynopotamus ''Cynopotamus'' is a genus of characin fishes from South America, with 12 currently described species: * '' Cynopotamus amazonum'' ( Günther, 1868) * '' Cynopotamus argenteus'' (Valenciennes, 1836) * '' Cynopotamus atratoensis'' ( C. H. Eigenman ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1850 ** '' Galeocharax'' Fowler, 1910 ** '' Microschemobrycon'' Eigenmann, 1915 ** '' Phenacogaster'' Eigenmann, 1907 ** ''

Roeboides ''Roeboides'' is a genus of characins from Central America, Central and South America. These fish, among other characteristics, are small, are typically translucent, and have a rhomboid shape. Species The 21 currently recognized species in this ...

'' Günther 1864

Former members

This family has undergone a large amount of systematic and

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

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 Lebiasinidae are a family (biology), family of freshwater fishes found in Costa Rica, Panama, and South America. They are usually small and are known as ornamental fishes in Aquarium, aquaria, including popular fishes such as the various penc ...

, the assorted predatory species belonging to '' Hoplias'' and '' Hoplerythrinus'' have now been moved into the

Erythrinidae The Erythrinidae are a family of fishes found in rivers and other freshwater habitats from Costa Rica south as far as Argentina. They are common and are caught with hooks by fishermen, partially because of their voracious behaviour. They are som ...

, 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 African tetras (family (biology), family Alestidae, formerly spelled Alestiidae) are a group of Characiformes, characiform fish found exclusively in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 119 species. Among the best known members are th ...

) and the subfamilies Crenuchinae and Characidiinae were moved to the family Crenuchidae. 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 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 ...

Anostomidae The Anostomidae are a family of ray-finned fishes that belong to the order Characiformes. Closely related to the Chilodidae and formerly included with them, the Anostomidae contain about 150 described species. Commonly known as anostomids, they ...

Chilodidae The Chilodidae, or headstanders, are a small family of freshwater characiform fishes found in northern and central South America. This family is closely related to the family Anostomidae and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Chilodinae, withi ...

Citharinidae The Citharinidae, the lutefishes, are a small family of characiform fish. They are freshwater fish native to Africa, and are sufficiently abundant to be significant food fishes. They are deep-bodied, silvery fish, measuring up to in length an ...

Ctenoluciidae The Ctenoluciidae (meaning "comb light family"), also known as pike-characins, are a small family of freshwater fishes from Panama and South America. They have elongated, Esox, pike-like bodies, and several sharp and conical teeth. They are rela ...

, Curimatidae,

Distichodontidae The Distichodontidae are a family of African freshwater fishes of the order Characiformes. Two evolutionary grades are found in this family; micropredators (predators of very small organisms like aquatic insect larvae) and herbivores have a nonp ...

, Gasteropelecidae,

Hemiodontidae The Hemiodontidae are a small family (biology), family of freshwater Characidae, characins found in northern South America, south to the Paraná River, Paraná-Paraguay River, Paraguay Basin. The larger species are popular food fish. Hemiodontid ...

, Hepsetidae, Parodontidae,

Prochilodontidae The Prochilodontidae, or flannel-mouthed characins, are a small family of freshwater fishes found primarily in the northern half of South America, south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. This family is closely related to the Curimatidae, and in ...

Serrasalmidae The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes native to freshwater habitats of South America. They include more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the ...

, and

Triportheidae Triportheidae, the hatchet characins, is a family of characiform fishes, including about 23 species. This family was raised from the status of a subfamily to family based on extensive analysis of characiform species. Fossils of this group date b ...

.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)
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'' In 2024, the families

and

, containing a high proportion of the famous ornamental aquarium tetras, were also split out of the family, in addition to the small family Spintherobolidae.

References

* * 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
PDF fulltext
* Géry, Jacques (1977): ''Characoids of the World''. * Nelson, Joseph S. (2006): ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' is a standard reference for the systematics of fishes. It was first written in 1976 by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011). Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of t ...

''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. {{Authority control Characiformes families