The Citharinidae, the lutefishes, are a small family of
characiform
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 ...
fish. They are freshwater fish native to Africa, and are sufficiently abundant to be significant food fishes.
[
They are deep-bodied, silvery fish, measuring up to in length and weighing up to .]
Genera
The family contains three genera:
*'' Citharidium'' (monotypic)
*'' Citharinops'' (monotypic)
*''Citharinus
''Citharinus'' is a genus of lutefishes from tropical Africa, with six currently described species:
* ''Citharinus citharus'' (Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809)
** ''C. c. citharus'' (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ...
'' (6 species)
References
Characiformes
*
Ray-finned fish families
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