Characidae

Characidae, the characids, is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish belonging to the order Characiformes. They are found throughout much of Central and South America, including such major waterways as the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. These fish vary in length; many are less than .

Tetragonopterus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Characidae. This fishes in this genus are found in South America.

Lepidophagy is a specialised feeding behaviour in fish that involves eating the scales of other fish. Lepidophagy is widespread, having evolved independently in at least five freshwater families and seven marine families. A related feeding behavior among fish is pterygophagy: feeding on the fins of other fish.

Bryconadenos is a genus of characins endemic to Brazil, with two currently recognized species: Bryconadenos tanaothoros S. H. Weitzman, Menezes, Evers & J. R. Burns, 2005 Bryconadenos weitzmani Menezes, Netto Ferreira & K. M. Ferreira, 2009

Characinae is a subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fishes, the nominate subfamily of the family Characidae. The fishes in this subfamily are found in Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Argentina.

Cheirodontinae is a subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fishes, characins, belonging to the family Characidae. The fishes in this genus are found in the Neotropics as far north as Costa Rica and in South America. They are absent from the Pacific drainages of South America except for four species in the genus Cheirodon that are endemic to southern Chile. Some authorities split this subfamily into two tribes, Cheirodontini and Composurini, based on the males' reproductive characteristics. However, later phylogenetic studies found Cheirodontinae to be monophyletic but that the division onto two tr

Aphyocharacinae is a subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fishes, characins, belonging to the family Characidae. The fishes in this subfamily are referred to as glass characins. The fishes included in this subfamily are found in South America, mainly in the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, with some species extending to the west of the Andes, and others as far south as the Paraguay River. The taxa within this subfamily have an apomorphy of having two dorsal fin rays attached to the first dorsal pterygiophore.