Ctenoluciidae
| Ctenoluciidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ctenolucius hujeta | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Suborder: | Characoidei |
| Family: | Schultz, 1944[1] |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
Ctenoluciidae the pike-characins, is a small family of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Characiformes,the characin-like fishes. The fishes in this genus are found in Panama and South America.
The name of the family is derived from its type genus, Ctenolucius, and combines cteno, from the Greek ktenós meaning "comb", and the Latin lucius, which means a pike.[2]
They have elongated, pike-like bodies, and several sharp and conical teeth. They are relatively large, up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length, predatory fish.[3]
Some of these fish, such as Ctenolucius hujeta, enter the aquarium fish hobby, often being labeled a "freshwater barracuda" or "freshwater needlefish", descriptions of fish that are both unrelated to members of this family.
Genera
The two genera in this group are:[4]
- Boulengerella Eigenmann, 1903 (five species)
- Ctenolucius Gill, 1861 (two species)
References
- ^ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (4 October 2023). "Family CTENOLUCIIDAE Schultz 1944 (Pike Characids)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ Weitzman, S.H.; Vari, R.P. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 102. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Ctenoluciidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2 Jun 2025.
- Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7