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 ...
of large characin fish in the family Alestidae commonly called "tigerfish," native to the African continent. The genus name is derived from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
ὕδωρ ("water"Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press.) + κύων ("dog"). (In fact, this fish is popularly referred to as ''poisson chien'' (dog fish) in French-speaking West Africa.) The genus contains five species, all popularly known as "African
tigerfish
Tigerfish can refer to fish from various families, and derives from official and colloquial associations of these with the tiger (''Panthera tigris''). However, the primary species designated by the name "tigerfish" are African and belong to the ...
" for their fierce predatory behaviour and other characteristics that make them excellent game fish. ''Hydrocynus'' are normally
piscivorous
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
The earliest fossils which have been identified as belonging to ''Hydrocynus'' are dated as
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...
, and have been found from the
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
, Maronga, Turkana and Semliki basins of northern and eastern Africa, in all of which ''Hydrocynus'' species still occur. The oldest lineage appears to be that of ''Hydrocynus goliath'', while lineages of ''H. brevis'' and ''H. forskahlii'' diverged in the Late Miocene and
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58
Species
Five species of ''Hydrocynus'' tigerfish are currently recognised.
* ''
Hydrocynus brevis
''Hydrocynus brevis'', also known as the tigerfish, Nile tigerfish or Sahelian tigerfish, is a predatory freshwater fish distributed throughout Africa.
Appearance
The tigerfish is silver in colour when young, with thin black horizontal stripes an ...
Hydrocynus forskahlii
''Hydrocynus forskahlii'', the elongate tigerfish, is a species of predatory characin from the family Alestidae which is found in northern and western Africa.
Description
''Hydrocynus forskahlii'' has pronounced stripes along the length of the bo ...
'' (
G. Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...
, 1819) (Elongate tigerfish)
* ''
Hydrocynus goliath
''Hydrocynus goliath'', also known as the goliath tigerfish, giant tigerfish, or mbenga, is a very large African predatory freshwater fish of the family Alestidae.
Distribution
''Hydrocynus goliath'' is found in the Congo River Basin (including ...
''
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 ...
, 1898 (Giant tigerfish)
* ''
Hydrocynus tanzaniae
''Hydrocynus tanzaniae'', the blue tigerfish, is a large African predatory freshwater fish.
Distribution
The eastward flowing rivers of Tanzania and in the Ruaha and Rufiji river systems.http://biostor.org/reference/32 page 201
Description
' ...
Hydrocynus vittatus
''Hydrocynus vittatus'', the African tigerfish, tiervis or ngwesh is a predatory freshwater fish distributed throughout much of Africa. This fish is generally a piscivore but it has been observed leaping out of the water and catching barn swallo ...
'' Castelnau, 1861 (Striped tigerfish)
However, recent molecular analysis indicates that there might be up to five more unidentified
cryptic species
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
, although more study of the ecology and behaviour is required. This study did not support the treatment of ''H. vittatus'' as a synonym of ''H. forskahlii''.
Economic importance
The different species tigerfish are among the most important and popular game fish species in Africa and as a result they are an important asset to the various tourist industries. They are also one of the most important components of commercial freshwater catches in Africa.