Order

Characiformes

  Class

Actinopterygii

No. in FishBase

Genera : 3 | Species : 8 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes

  Environment

Fresh : Yes | Brackish : No | Marine : No

  Division

Primary freshwater

  Aquarium

some

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

Fishes of the family Cynodontidae comprise a group of very distinctive Neotropical characiforms easily recognizable by their oblique mouth, well developed dentary canines, and relatively expanded pectoral fins. The group is not very diverse with 13 species currently recognized and grouped under two subfamilies: the Cynodontinae and the Roestinae (Lucena & Menezes, 1998). The Cynodontinae is represented by the largest members of the family with some of its species reaching up to 65 cm in length and possessing maximum development of dentary canines among cynodontids. The subfamily has been the subject of recent taxonomic and phylogenetic investigation by Toledo-Piza, (2000) and Toledo-Piza et al. (1999) with three genera being recognized: Cynodon with 3 species, hypothesized as the sister group to the monotypic Rhaphiodon, and this clade being the sister group to Hydrolycus with 4 species. The Roestinae includes species that reach a maximum length of 20 cm and are represented by Roestes with 3 species and Gilbertolus with two (Menezes & Lucena, 1998). The majority of cynodontid species occur in the Rio Amazonas and Río Orinoco basins, and in the rivers of the Atlantic slopes of the Guianas. Rhaphiodon vulpinus is the only Cynodontidae that ranges southward to the Paraná-Paraguay and Uruguay basins, and Gilbertolus occurs in the transandean drainages of the Río Atrato, Río Magdalena, and Lago Maracaibo basins of Colombia and Venezuela. Fossil cynodontids are represented by dentary canines originated in Miocene deposits from the La Venta fauna, located in the present Río Magdalena valley of Western Colombia, in the Anta Formation at Quebrada de la Yesera, Salta, and near the city of Paraná, Entre Ríos the latter two localities in Argentina (Lundberg, 1997; Cione & Casciotta, 1995, 1997). Most of what is known about the habits and biology of the Cynodontidae refers to members of the Cynodontinae. They live in mid- and surface waters of rivers, lakes, and flooded forests in all water types, are predatory fishes, mainly piscivorous, using their dentary canines to stab prey (Arendt 1997; Goulding, 1980). Although not much valued as food, some species may have some importance in subsistence commercial fisheries (Mendes dos Santos et al., 1984; and Taphorn, 1992). Hydrolycus is a sport species having been recently added to the International Game Fish Association in the fly and rod class (International Game Fish Association, 1995). The ecology of roestine species is poorly known. They are also much less common in museum collections when compared to cynodontines. Suggested new common name for this family from Ref. 58418.

  Etymology

Greek, kyon, -onos = dog + Greek, odous = teeth ( Ref. 45335).

  Reproductive guild

nonguarders

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref

Nelson, J.S. 1994

  Coordinator

Nelson, J.S. 1994

  Deep Fin Classification

Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Otomorpha | Ostariophysi | Otophysa | Characiphysae | Characiformes | Characoidei | Cynodontidae