''Brycinus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Alestiidae 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 tigerf ...

. Like other "

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

characid 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 ...

s", they were formerly included in the

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 ...

but are actually somewhat more distantly related

Characiformes Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...

. Like some other Alestiidae, they are called robber tetras due to their bold and rather

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

habits. They are not infrequently kept as

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fishes and in their requirements resemble the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by go ...

s of the Characidae. Unlike these, ''Brycinus'' are not well-suited to accompany delicate fishes however and are better kept with

dwarf cichlid Dwarf cichlid is a term used by fishkeeping hobbyists to describe an arbitrary assemblage of small-sized fish from the family Cichlidae. Although the grouping is widely used in the aquarium industry and hobby, the grouping has no taxonomic or eco ...

s and similar small but robust companions.

Species

There are currently 36 recognized species in this genus: * '' Brycinus abeli'' ( Fowler, 1936) * '' Brycinus affinis'' ( Günther, 1894) (Red-fin robber) * '' Brycinus bartoni'' (

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) *Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * Nic ...

& La Monte, 1953) * '' Brycinus batesii'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1903) * '' Brycinus bimaculatus'' (

, 1899) * '' Brycinus brevis'' (

, 1903) * '' Brycinus carmesinus'' (

& Griscom, 1917) * '' Brycinus carolinae'' ( Paugy & Lévêque, 1981) * '' Brycinus comptus'' ( T. R. Roberts & D. J. Stewart, 1976) * '' Brycinus derhami''

Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the follo ...

& Mahnert, 1977 * '' Brycinus epuluensis'' Decru, Vreven, Sadio & Snoeks, 2016 Decru, E., Vreven, E., Sadio, O. & Snoeks, J. (2016): ''Brycinus epuluensis'', a new species from the Epulu River (Congo basin), Africa (Teleostei: Alestidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 27 (1): 49-60.'' * ''

Brycinus ferox The large-toothed Lake Turkana robber (''Brycinus ferox'') is a species of fish in the family Alestidae. It is endemic to Lake Turkana in Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_captio ...

'' ( A. J. Hopson & J. Hopson, 1982) (Large-toothed Lake Turkana robber) * '' Brycinus fwaensis''

, 1995 * '' Brycinus grandisquamis'' (

, 1899) (Pink-fin robber) * '' Brycinus humilis'' (

, 1905) * '' Brycinus imberi'' ( W. K. H. Peters, 1852) * '' Brycinus intermedius'' (

, 1903) * '' Brycinus jacksonii'' (

, 1912) (Victoria robber) * '' Brycinus kingsleyae'' ( Günther, 1896) * '' Brycinus lateralis'' (

, 1900) (Striped robber) * '' Brycinus leuciscus'' ( Günther, 1867) * ''

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) (Long-fin tetra) * '' Brycinus luteus'' ( Román, 1966) * '' Brycinus macrolepidotus''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1850 (True big-scale tetra) * ''

Brycinus minutus The dwarf Lake Turkana robber (''Brycinus minutus'') is a species of fish in the family Alestidae. It is endemic to Lake Turkana in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption ...

'' ( A. J. Hopson & J. Hopson, 1982) (Dwarf Lake Turkana robber) * '' Brycinus nigricauda'' ( Thys van den Audenaerde, 1974) * ''

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) (Nurse tetra) * '' Brycinus opisthotaenia'' (

, 1903) * '' Brycinus peringueyi'' (

, 1923) * '' Brycinus poptae'' ( Pellegrin, 1906) * '' Brycinus rhodopleura'' (

, 1906) * '' Brycinus sadleri'' (

, 1906) (Sadler's robber) * '' Brycinus schoutedeni'' (

, 1912) * '' Brycinus taeniurus'' ( Günther, 1867) * '' Brycinus tessmanni'' (

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

, 1911) * '' Brycinus tholloni'' ( Pellegrin, 1901)

References

Fish of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Characiformes-stub