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Brycinus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brycinus
Brycinus longipinnis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Alestidae
Genus: Brycinus
Valenciennes, 1850
Type species
Brycinus macrolepidotus
Valenciennes, 1850

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.[1]

Like some other Alestiidae, they are called robber tetras due to their bold and rather carnivorous habits. They are not infrequently kept as aquarium fishes and in their requirements resemble the South American tetras of the Characidae. Unlike these, Brycinus are not well-suited to accompany delicate fishes however and are better kept with dwarf cichlids and similar small but robust companions.

Species

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Brycinus peringueyi collected in Lavushi Manda National Park, Zambia, by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity

There are currently 36 recognized species in this genus:

References

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  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Brycinus". FishBase. January 2016 version.
  2. ^ 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.