''Characodon'' is a genus of

splitfin Goodeidae is a family of teleost fish endemic to Mexico and some areas of the United States. Many species are known as splitfins. This family contains about 50 species within 18 genera. The family is named after ichthyologist George Brown Good ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to north–central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Two of the species are highly threatened and restricted to pools, ponds and springs in the upper

San Pedro Mezquital River The San Pedro Mezquital River ( es, Río San Pedro Mezquital) is a river of Nayarit, Mexico. The river originates in the Sierra Madre Occidental, and flows through Durango and Nayarit states to empty into the Pacific Ocean in Marismas Nacionale ...

basin in

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

. The third species, ''C. garmani'', was restricted to springs near Parras in

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

, but it became

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

when they dried out.

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus, although some authorities consider the genus to be

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, containing only ''Characodon lateralis'' with the other two species classified in the genus ''Goodea''. * '' Characodon audax'' M. L. Smith &

R. R. Miller Robert Rush Miller (April 23, 1916 – February 10, 2003) "was an important figure in American ichthyology and conservation from 1940 to the 1990s." He was born in Colorado Springs, earned his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berke ...

, 1986 (Bold characodon) * †'' Characodon garmani'' D. S. Jordan & Evermann, 1898 (Parras characodon) * '' Characodon lateralis'' Günther, 1866 (Rainbow characodon) † = Extinct

References

Goodeinae Freshwater fish of Mexico Endemic fish of Mexico Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Albert Günther Ray-finned fish genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cyprinodontiformes-stub