| Chilodontidae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chilodus sp. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Suborder: | Anostomoidea |
| Family: | Chilodontidae C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 |
| Genera | |
|
2, See text | |
The Chilodontidae, or headstanders, are a small family of freshwater characiform fishes found in northern and central South America. This family is closely related to the family Anostomidae and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Chilodontinae, within Anostomidae. Due to issues of homonymy with two other family-rank names called "Chilodontidae", it has been proposed that the fish family retain the spelling, and the other families will be either suppressed or renamed.
Chilodontids have colourful markings, making them popular in aquariums. They are small fish, all less than 7 cm (2.8 in) in adult length, and are distinguished by their habitual head-down postures.
Genera
This family currently contains two genera:
- Genus Caenotropus (4 species)
- Genus Chilodus (4 species)
References
- ICZN Case 3555
- Weitzman, S.H. & Vari R.P. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 104. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Chilodontidae". FishBase. October 2011 version.
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