Alestes

Alestes
Alestes baremoze
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Characiformes
Family: Alestidae
Genus: Alestes
J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1846
Type species
Salmo niloticus
Species

See text.

Synonyms

Alestiops Hoedeman, 1951

Alestes is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Alestidae, the African characins. As suggested by the name, the Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae before that family was limited to South American fish. Myletes was a synonym of Alestes, which was also used for various South American serrasalmids but this name was suppressed by Opinion 1813 of the ICZN.

Within the Lake Chad basin, Alestes and Hydrocynus, collectively known as salanga, are lightly smoked and dried.

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Alestidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Myletes Cuvier, 1814, Integrated Taxonomic Information System
  3. ↑ International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1995). "OPINION 1813 Alestes Miiller & Troschel, 1844 (Osteichthyes, Characiformes): conserved" (PDF). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 52 (2): 219–221.
  4. ↑ Fisheries Development Within the Framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission by A. Staunch, presented at the Symposium on the Evaluation of Fishery Resources in the Development and Management of Inland Fisheries, 1972 (hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization)
  5. ↑ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Alestes". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Bailly N (ed.). "Alestes macrophthalmus Günther, 1867". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
  7. ↑ "A New Alestes (Characiformes, Alestidae) from the Mpozo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Copeia. 1: 110–116. February 2009. doi:10.1643/CI-07-252.