Tigerfish can refer to fish from various

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

, and derives from official and colloquial associations of these with the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

(''Panthera tigris''). However, the primary species designated by the name "tigerfish" are African and belong to the family Alestidae.

African tigerfish

Several species belonging to the genus '' Hydrocynus'' of the family Alestidae are referred to as "tigerfish", and are particularly prized as

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...

. These

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

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 ...

are found in many rivers and lakes on the continent and are fierce predators with distinctive, proportionally large teeth. The goliath tigerfish ('' Hydrocynus goliath'') is among the most famous tigerfish. The largest one on record is said to have weighed . It is found in the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

system and

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

and is the largest member of the family Alestidae. Another famous species, simply called the tigerfish ('' Hydrocynus vittatus''), is commonly found in the southernly Okavango Delta, and the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

, and also in the two biggest lakes along the Zambezi, Lake Kariba which borders Zimbabwe and Zambia, Kabombo River in Zambia and Cabora Bassa in Mozambique, and finally in the Jozini dam in South Africa. Both the goliath tigerfish and its smaller relative the tigerfish are found in Africa.

Behavior

In the western gamefishing world, '' Hydrocynus vittatus'' is considered Africa's

equivalent Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry *Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equiva ...

of the South American

piranha 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 ...

, though it belongs to a completely different zoological family. Like the piranha, individual tigerfish have interlocking, razor-sharp teeth, along with streamlined, muscular bodies, and are extremely aggressive and capable predators who often hunt in groups. The

African tigerfish ''Hydrocynus'' is a genus of Characiformes, characin fish in the family Alestidae commonly called "tigerfish," native to Africa. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ ("water"Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Le ...

has been recorded to attack and catch birds in flight.Fish leaps to catch birds on the wing (video)
Nature.com (January 9, 2014).

Cichlids Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of Percomorpha, percomorph fish in the family (biology), family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been Binomial nomenclature, scientifically described, making ...

The name "tigerfish" has occasionally been used for a species of

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

in the genus '' Rhamphochromis''. The species is large, silver-coloured, and individuals typically have one or more black lines running the length of either flank. These fish are native to

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

in Africa. Like the other African tigerfish species, they are famed for possessing large, prominent teeth, and they are known to attack humans.

Datnioididae

Several species of '' Coius'' (or '' Datnioides'', depending on the taxonomic authority) have been referred to as "tigerfish", particularly in

fishkeeping Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. It is a practice that encompasses the art of maintaining one's own aquatic ecosystem, featuring a lot of variety with various w ...

books and magazines. They are large, wide-bodied fish whose flanks are covered by vivid black stripes.

Erythrinidae

The large South American

characin 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 ...

s of the family Erythrinidae have also sometimes been called "tigerfish".

References

Tiger fish
– ''Guide to the Tiger fish (Hydrocynus forskalii)'' * {{cite book , last1=Phillipson , first1=David W. , year=1975 , title=Mosi-oa-Tunya: A Handbook to the Victoria Falls Region , publisher=Longman , isbn=0-582-64170-5 , oclc=2639131

External links

Discovery Channel's River MonstersFishbase list of species commonly called "tigerfish"Fishbase list of species commonly called "tiger fish"
Fish common names th:ปลาเสือ