Alestidae Explained

African tetras (family Alestidae, formerly spelled Alestiidae) are a group of characiform fish found exclusively in Africa.[1] This family contains about 18 genera and 119 species. Among the best known members are the Congo tetra and African tigerfish; both are kept in aquaria, and tigerfish are utilized for food and as gamefish.

Although currently native only to African waterways, fossil evidence suggests that during the Paleogene, they ranged as far north as southern Europe and as far east as the Arabian subcontinent.[2] Fossil remains date back to potentially the Late Paleocene with Hydrocynus remains known from Algeria.[3] Alestid-like teeth are also known from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of France, and phylogenetic evidence also suggests that they diverged around this time.[4] [5]

Taxonomy

Taxonomy based on Van der Laan 2017[6] and Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (2026):

The following fossil genera are also known:

The Lepidarchidae, whose two genera were previously placed in this family, have been found to be an ancient group more closely related to the Hepsetidae, and are thus placed in their own family now.

Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree based on a 2023 analysis of ultraconserved element loci:[9]

Notes and References

  1. Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  2. Murray . Alison M . 2003 . A new characiform fish (Teleostei: Ostariophysi) from the Eocene of Tanzania . Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences . 40 . 4 . 473–481 . 10.1139/e02-108 . 0008-4077. subscription .
  3. Hammouda . Sid-Ahmed . Murray . Alison M. . Divay . Julien D. . Mebrouk . Fateh . Adaci . Mohammed . Bensalah . Mustapha . 2016 . Earliest occurrence of Hydrocynus (Characiformes, Alestidae) from Eocene continental deposits of Méridja Hamada, northwestern Sahara, Algeria . Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences . 53 . 10 . 1042–1052 . 10.1139/cjes-2016-0006 . 0008-4077. subscription .
  4. Otero . O. . Valentin . X. . Garcia . G. . 2008 . Cretaceous characiform fishes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi) from Northern Tethys: description of new material from the Maastrichtian of Provence (Southern France) and palaeobiogeographical implications . Geological Society, London, Special Publications . en . 295 . 1 . 155–164 . 10.1144/SP295.10 . 0305-8719. subscription .
  5. Melo . Bruno F . Stiassny . Melanie L J . 2024-01-01 . Phylogenomic and anatomical evidence for the Late Cretaceous diversification of African characiform fishes, including a new family, under the influence of the Trans-Saharan Seaway . Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society . 3 . 1 . kzae030 . 10.1093/evolinnean/kzae030 . 2752-938X . free.
  6. Book: van der Laan, Richard . Freshwater fish list . 997 . PDF . 23rd . 2468-9157 . December 2017.
  7. Wang . Alice . Stiassny . Melanie L. J. . Melo . Bruno F. . 2026-04-01 . Phylogenomics, biogeography, and description of a new subfamily and genus of African characiform fishes (Teleostei: Alestidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 217 . 108546 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2026.108546 . 1055-7903. free .
  8. ZANATA . ANGELA M. . VARI . RICHARD P. . 2005-09-01 . The family Alestidae (Ostariophysi, Characiformes): a phylogenetic analysis of a trans-Atlantic clade . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 145 . 1 . 1–144 . 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00183.x . 0024-4082. subscription .
  9. Phylogenomics and Morphology of the African Fish Genus Brycinus with Revalidation of Brachyalestes and Description of a New Species from the Congo Basin (Teleostei: Alestidae) . Ichthyology & Herpetology . November 2023 . 111 . 4 . 10.1643/i2023033.

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