Cyprinidae: Moenkhausia Pittieri Citharinidae Nannaethiops

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Moenkhausia Pittieri Citharinidae Nannaethiops

Tetras traditionally were classified within the family Characidae (characins), and in particularly the subfamilies Tetragonopterinae (South American tetras) and Alestiinae (African tetras).
However, this family has undergone much taxonomic revision and many authorities have moved the African tetras to the family level, called Alestiidae (Nelson 2006).

Both Characidae and Alestiidae belong to the order Characiformes.
Characiformes are characterized by well developed teeth (most are carnivores) and the presence of a pelvic fin (with five to twelve rays) and normally an adipose fin, and a body that is almost always scaled (Nelson 1994).