Characiformes

Silversides Alestes baremose, copyright Marc Towers.

Belongs within: Ostariophysi.
Contains: Characidae.

The Characiformes are a group of tropical freshwater fish found in Africa and the Neotropical region.

Characters (from Bond 1996): Orbitosphenoid, parietal, symplectic and subopercular bones present; jaw teeth present, opposing pharyngeal teeth usually present; barbels absent; first hypural separated from compound ural centrum; adipose fin present.

Characiformes [Caracinoidei]
    |  i. s.: Paracheirodon innesi B96
    |         Probolobus heterostomus B96
    |         Metynnis B96
    |         Colossoma macropomum G88
    |         Stethaprion erythrops SL86
    |--Santanichthys diasii AS09
    `--+--Citharinoidei B-RB13
       |    |--Citharinus B96 [Citharinidae B-RB13, Citharininae]
       |    |    |--C. citharus B96
       |    |    `--C. congicus B96
       |    `--Distichodus NE12 [Distichodontidae B-RB13, Distichodontinae]
       |         |--D. maculatus NE12
       |         |--D. notospilus SLH06
       |         `--D. rostratus SL86
       `--Characoidei B-RB13
            |  i. s.: Acestrorhynchus GM01 [Acestrorhynchidae B-RB13]
            |         Chalceus SM03 [Chalceidae B-RB13]
            |           `--C. macrolepidotus SM03
            |         Crenuchidae [Crenuchinae] B-RB13
            |         Ctenoluciidae [Xiphostomidae] B-RB13
            |         Hoplias P93 [Erythrinidae B-RB13]
            |           `--H. malabaricus SL86 [incl. Macrodon ferox Gill 1858 F16, M. trahira Regan 1906 F16]
            |         Gasteropelecidae B-RB13
            |           |--Gasteropelecus B96
            |           |--Carnegiella B96
            |           `--Thoracocharax B96
            |         Hemiodontidae B-RB13
            |           |--Micromischodus B96
            |           `--Bivibranchia [Hemiodontinae] B96
            |         Hepsetus GM01 [Hepsetidae B-RB13]
            |           `--H. odoe B96
            |         Lebiasinidae B-RB13
            |           |--Nannostomus [Pyrrulininae] B96
            |           `--Lebiasina [Lebiasininae] B96
            |                `--L. bimaculatus B96
            |         Parodon F18 [Parodontidae B-RB13, Parodontinae]
            |           |--P. affinis B96
            |           `--P. paraguayensis F18
            |         Prochilodus F15 [Prochilodontidae B-RB13, Prochilodontinae]
            |           |--P. nigricans F15
            |           `--P. steindachneri F15
            |         Serrasalmidae [Serrasalminae] B-RB13
            |           |--Pygobrycon GM01
            |           |--Pygocentrus piraya B96, F15
            |           `--Serrasalmus GM01
            |                |--S. elongatus B96
            |                `--S. rhombeus F15
            |         Triportheidae B-RB13
            |         Curimata P93 [Curimatidae B-RB13, Curimatinae]
            |           |--C. argenteus Gill 1858 F16
            |           |--C. cyprinoides F15
            |           `--C. mosesi Travassos & Silva Santos 1955 P93
            |         Iguanodectidae [Iguanodectinae] B-RB13
            |--+--Brycon NE12 [Bryconidae B-RB13]
            |  |    `--B. pesu NE12
            |  `--+--Characidae NE12
            |     `--Leporinus NE12 [Anostomidae P93, Anostominae]
            |          `--L. copelandii NE12
            `--Alestidae [Alestiinae] SM03
                 |--Phenacogrammus interruptus NE12
                 |--Hydrocynus goliath B96
                 `--Alestes G74
                      |--A. baremose B68
                      |--A. imberi B50
                      |--A. jacksoni G74
                      |--A. macrophthalmus B50
                      `--A. sadleri G74

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AS09] Alfaro, M. E., F. Santini, C. Brock, H. Alamillo, A. Dornburg, D. L. Rabosky, G. Carnevale & L. J. Harmon. 2009. Nine exceptional radiations plus high turnover explain species diversity in jawed vertebrates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106 (32): 13410–13414.

[B-RB13] Betancur-R., R., R. E. Broughton, E. O. Wiley, K. Carpenter, A. López, C. Li, N. I. Holcroft, D. Arcila, M. Sanciangco, J. C. Cureton, II, F. Zhang, T. Buser, M. A. Campbell, J. A. Ballesteros, A. Roa-Varon, S. Willis, W. C. Borden, T. Rowley, P. C. Reneau, D. J. Hough, G. Lu, T. Grande, G. Arratia & G. Ortí. 2013. The tree of life and a new classification of bony fishes. PLoS Currents Tree of Life April 18 2013. doi: 10.1371/currents.tol.53ba26640df0ccaee75bb165c8c26288.

[B96] Bond, C. E. 1996. Biology of Fishes 2^nd ed. Saunders College Publishing: Fort Worth.

[B50] Brooks, J. L. 1950. Speciation in ancient lakes (concluded). Quarterly Review of Biology 25: 131–176.

[B68] Brooks, J. L. 1968. The effects of prey size selection by lake planktivores. Systematic Zoology 17 (3): 273–291.

[F15] Fowler, H. W. 1915. Cold-blooded vertebrates from Florida, the West Indies, Costa Rica, and eastern Brazil. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67 (2): 244–269.

[F16] Fowler, H. W. 1916. The fishes of Trinidad, Grenada, and St. Lucia, British West Indies. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67 (3): 520–548.

[F18] Fowler, H. W. 1918. A new characin from Paraguay. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 141–143.

[GM01] Gayet, M., L. G. Marshall, T. Sempere, F. J. Meunier, H. Cappetta & J-C. Rage. 2001. Middle Maastrichtian vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, dinosaurs and other reptiles, mammals) from Pajcha Pata (Bolivia). Biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic and palaeobiostratigraphic implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 169: 39–68.

[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.

[G74] Greenwood, P. H. 1974. The cichlid fishes of Lake Vistoria, East Africa: the biology and evolution of a species flock. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Zoology Suppl. 6: 1–134.

[NE12] Near, T. J., R. I. Eytan, A. Dornburg, K. L. Kuhn, J. A. Moore, M. P. Davis, P. C. Wainwright, M. Friedman & W. L. Smith. 2012. Resolution of ray-finned fish phylogeny and timing of diversification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 109 (34): 13698–13703.

[P93] Patterson, C. 1993. Osteichthyes: Teleostei. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 621–656. Chapman & Hall: London.

[SM03] Saitoh, K., M. Miya, J. G. Inoue, N. B. Ishiguro & M. Nishida. 2003. Mitochondrial genomics of ostariophysan fishes: perspectives on phylogeny and biogeography. Journal of Molecular Evolution 56: 464–472.

[SL86] Schaefer, S. A., & G. V. Lauder. 1986. Historical transformation of functional design: evolutionary morphology of feeding mechanisms in loricarioid catfishes. Systematic Zoology 35 (4): 489–508.

[SLH06] Sullivan, J. P., J. G. Lundberg & M. Hardman. 2006. A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 636–662.