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Family of fishes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Distichodontidae are a family of African freshwater fishes of the order Characiformes.[1]
| Distichodontidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Distichodus maculatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Suborder: | Citharinoidei |
| Family: | Distichodontidae Günther, 1864 |
| Genera | |
|
17, see text | |
Two evolutionary grades are found in this family; micropredators (predators of very small organisms like aquatic insect larvae) and herbivores have a nonprotractile upper jaw and a deep to shallow body, while carnivores have a movable upper jaw and an elongated body.[1] Although the herbivores primarily feed on plant material, these species often have omnivorous tendencies. The carnivores include specialized fish-eaters (genus Mesoborus), fin-eaters (Belonophago, Eugnathichthys and Phago) and species that will feed on both whole fish and fins (Ichthyborus). The fin-eaters attack other fish, even ones that are much larger, where they bite off pieces of fins with their sharp teeth.[2][3][4]
The fish in Distichodontidae vary greatly in size among species, with the smallest micropredators being less than 8 cm (3.1 in) in length, and the largest herbivores can reach up to 83 cm (33 in).[5]
The 17 genera include about 90 species:[6]
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