''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 tige ...
, 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 ''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''
Boulenger, 1910
* ''
Alestes baremoze''
( Joannis, 1835) (Silversides)
* ''
Alestes dentex''
(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) (Characin)
* ''
Alestes inferus''
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 t ...
& Mamonekene, 2009
* ''
Alestes liebrechtsii''
Boulenger, 1898
* ''
Alestes macrophthalmus''
Günther, 1867 (Torpedo robber)
* ''
Alestes stuhlmannii''
Pfeffer, 1896
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Alestes boubon''i Roman, 1973: synonym of ''
Brycinus nurse'' (Rüppell, 1832)
* ''Alestes chaperi'' Sauvage, 1882: synonym of ''
Brycinus longipinnis'' (Günther, 1864)
* ''Alestes longipinnis'' (Günther, 1864): synonym of ''
Brycinus longipinnis'' (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