''Alestes'' is a genus in the family

Alestidae African tetras (family Alestidae, formerly spelled Alestiidae) are a group of characiform fish exclusively found in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 119 species. Among the best known members are the Congo tetra, and African tiger ...

, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their st ...

. ''Myletes'' is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Alestes'', but the former name has historically also been used for various South American serrasalmines. Within the

Lake Chad basin The Chad Basin is the largest endorheic basin in Africa, centered on Lake Chad. It has no outlet to the sea and contains large areas of semi-arid desert and savanna. The drainage basin is roughly coterminous with the sedimentary basin of the same ...

, ''Alestes'' and '' Hydrocynus'', collectively known as ''salanga'', are lightly smoked and dried.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus: * ''

Alestes ansorgii ''Alestes'' is a genus in the family Alestidae, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae. ''Myletes'' is a synonym of ''Aleste ...

'' Boulenger, 1910 * ''

Alestes baremoze ''Alestes baremoze'', the pebbly fish or silversides, is a species of characin fish from the freshwater systems of northern and western Africa. It has some importance as a commercially exploited food fish. Description ''Alestes baremoze'' is a s ...

'' (

Joannis Joannis is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Joannis Andreou, Greek swimmer * Joannis Antonius de Sancto Giorgio, Italian jurist * Joannis Avramidis, Greek-Austrian sculptor * Joannis Capodistrias, Greek politician in Russia * ...

, 1835) (Silversides) * ''

Alestes dentex ''Alestes dentex'' is a species of freshwater fish in the family Alestidae. It is found in Africa. Distribution ''Alestes dentex'' is typically found in Central and West Africa. However, the species has also been found in Lake Turkana of the Ke ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) (Characin) * ''

Alestes inferus ''Alestes'' is a genus in the family Alestidae, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae. ''Myletes'' is a synonym of ''Aleste ...

'' Stiassny,

Schelly The schelly (''Coregonus stigmaticus'') is a living fresh water fish of the salmon family, endemic to four lakes in the Lake District, England. Its taxonomy is disputed with some recognizing it as a distinct species and others as a variant of th ...

& Mamonekene, 2009 * ''

Alestes liebrechtsii ''Alestes'' is a genus in the family Alestidae, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae. ''Myletes'' is a synonym of ''Aleste ...

'' Boulenger, 1898 * ''

Alestes macrophthalmus ''Alestes'' is a genus in the family Alestidae, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae. ''Myletes'' is a synonym of ''Aleste ...

'' Günther, 1867 (Torpedo robber) * ''

Alestes stuhlmannii ''Alestes stuhlmannii'' is a species of fish in the family Alestidae. It is endemic to the Ulanga River in Morogoro Region of Tanzania.RUBADA, 1981, Rufiji Basin Study Programme. Study of fisheries in the proposed Steiglers gorge reservoir and th ...

Pfeffer Pfeffer is a German surname meaning "pepper" and may refer to: * Anna Pfeffer (born 1946), Hungarian Olympic medalist sprint canoer * Anshel Pfeffer, British journalist * Anton Pfeffer (born 1965), Austrian footballer * Big Jeff Pfeffer (1882� ...

, 1896 ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Alestes boubon''i Roman, 1973: synonym of ''

Brycinus nurse ''Brycinus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Alestiidae. Like other "African characids", they were formerly included in the Characidae but are actually somewhat more distantly related Characiformes. Like some other Alestiidae, they a ...

'' (Rüppell, 1832) * ''Alestes chaperi'' Sauvage, 1882: synonym of ''

Brycinus longipinnis Primarily known as long-fin tetra, ''Brycinus longipinnis'' is also described as African long-finned tetra''among other terms Distribution ''Brycinus longipinnis'' is native to the western coastal regions of Africa from The Gambia to Democra ...

'' (Günther, 1864) * ''Alestes longipinnis'' (Günther, 1864): synonym of ''

'' (Günther, 1864) * ''Alestes luteus'' Roman, 1966: synonym of '' Brycinus luteus'' (Roman, 1966) * ''Alestes macrolepiditus'' (Valenciennes, 1850): synonym of '' Brycinus macrolepidotus'' Valenciennes, 1850 * ''Alestes macrolepidotus'' (Valenciennes, 1850): synonym of '' Brycinus macrolepidotus'' Valenciennes, 1850 * ''Alestes rutilus'' Boulenger, 1916: synonym of '' Brycinus macrolepidotus'' Valenciennes, 1850

References

External links

on 2014-11-26 Bailly, N. (2014). Alestes. In: Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2014) FishBase. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species
Alestidae Fish of Africa {{Characiformes-stub