The Citharinidae, the lutefishes, are a small family of
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. 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 and weighing up to .] They are filter feeders.
Genera
The family contains three genera:[Citharidium
''Citharidium'' is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Citharinidae, the lutefishes. The only species in this genus is ''Citharidium ansorgii'' which is found in the Niger River basin in Nigeria. They report ...]