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   » » Wiki: Characiformes
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Characiformes is an order of , comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known and .

(2025). 9780471250319, John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
; Buckup P.A.: "Relationships of the Characidiinae and phylogeny of characiform fishes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi)", Phylogeny and Classification of Neotropical Fishes, L.R. Malabarba, R.E. Reis, R.P. Vari, Z.M. Lucena, eds. (Porto Alegre: Edipucr) 1998:123-144.


Taxonomy
The Characiformes form part of a series called the within the superorder . The Otophysi contain three other orders, , , and . The Characiformes form a group known as the Characiphysi with the Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes. The order Characiformes is the to the orders Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes, though this has been debated in light of recent molecular evidence.

Originally, the characins were all grouped within a single family, the . Since then, 18 different families have been separated out. However, classification varies somewhat, and the most recent (2011) study confirms the circumscribed Characidae as . Claudio Oliveira, Gleisy S Avelino, Kelly T Abe, Tatiane C Mariguela, Ricardo C Benine, Guillermo Ortí, Richard P Vari and Ricardo M Corrêa e Castro,"Phylogenetic relationships within the speciose family Characidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes) based on multilocus analysis and extensive ingroup sampling", BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011, 11:275). Currently, 18 families, about 270 , and at least 1674 are known.

The suborder , which contains the families and , is considered the sister group to the rest of the characins, suborder . This group has a very ancient divergence from the rest of the Characiformes, dating back to the or earlier, and it has been suggested that it be better treated as its own order, the .


Evolution
The Characiformes likely first originated and diversified on the supercontinent of (composed of modern Africa and South America) during the Cretaceous period, though fossils are poorly known. During the Cretaceous Period, the rift between South America and Africa would be forming; this may explain the contrast in diversity between the two continents. Their low diversity in Africa may explain why some primitive fish families and the Cypriniformes coexist with them whereas they are absent in South America, where these fish may have been driven extinct. The characiforms had not spread into Africa soon enough to also reach the land connection between Africa and Asia. The earliest they could have spread into Central America was the late .


Fossils
The earliest characiform fossils date back to the Late Cretaceous, around the . Other fossil teeth date back to the of , but it has been suggested that these teeth may be of early . Previously, the oldest characiform was assumed to be of the Early ( Age) of . This presumably marine taxon was used as evidence of characiformes potentially having marine origins. However, more recent studies indicate that Santanaichthys is likely a basal rather than a characiform. Similarly, from Spain and from Italy, previously also considered potential marine characiforms, are now thought to have no characiform affinities and are considered indeterminate . Given this, there is no paleontological support for characiforms having marine origins.

Uniquely, Late Cretaceous characiform fossils are found significantly north of their modern distribution. Indeterminate characiform teeth are known from the Santonian of Hungary and of France, which have a large, multi-cusped appearance reminiscent of African . Similarly, two freshwater characiform genera, and , are known from North America, with Primuluchara having a very wide distribution across , ranging from Texas to as far north as southern Canada (Dinosaur Park Formation). It is likely that the warmer conditions of the Late Cretaceous allowed early characins to range farther north than the present day, with African characins colonizing Europe and South American characins colonizing North America. Early characins may have had some level of salt tolerance, allowing for such colonizations to take place. Within their modern distribution, a number of modern South American characin families have their earliest occurrences in the Maastrichtian of Bolivia, with isolated teeth and skeletal elements identifiable to , , and .

Characins appear to have inhabited Europe into the , with fossil teeth reminiscent of known from the of Spain. Gaudant, 1980 is known from a fully-articulated specimen from the of France, and appears to represent an estuarine taxon, although its phylogenetic position needs revision. Two other alleged Eocene European characids, Piton, 1938 and Piton, 1938 from France, lack a Weberian apparatus and are very likely not characins, and instead may be related to the enigmatic .


Taxonomy
The following classification is based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (2025). Betancur et al (2018) & Melo et al (2022) recognise some supra-familial divisions but these are not recognised by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes


Fossil taxa


Phylogeny
Below is a phylogeny of living Characiformes based on Betancur-Rodriguez et al. 2017 and Nelson, Grande & Wilson 2016.
(2025). 9781118342336, John Wiley & Sons.


Description
Characins possess a Weberian apparatus, a series of parts connecting the and . Superficially, the Characiformes somewhat resemble their relatives of the order , but have a small, fleshy adipose fin between the and . Most species have teeth within the mouth, since they are often . The body is almost always covered in well-defined scales. The mouth is also usually not truly protractile.

The largest characins are Hydrocynus goliath and Salminus franciscanus and , both of which are up to . The smallest in size is about in the Bolivian pygmy blue characin, Xenurobrycon polyancistrus.

(1998). 9780125476652, Academic Press.
Many members are under .


Distribution and habitat
Characins are most diverse in the , where they are found in lakes and rivers throughout most of and . The red-bellied piranha, a member of the family within the Characiformes, is endemic to the Neotropical realm. At least 209 species of characins are found in Africa, including the , , , and . The rest of the characins originate from the .


Relationship to humans
A few characins become quite large, and are important as food or game. Most, however, are small shoaling fish. Many species commonly called are popular in aquaria because of their bright colors, general hardiness, and tolerance towards other fish in community tanks.

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