African tetras (family Alestidae, formerly spelled Alestiidae) are a group of characiform fish found exclusively in Africa. This family contains about 18 genera and 119 species. Among the best known members are the Congo tetra and African tigerfish; both are kept in aquaria, and tigerfish are utilized for food and as gamefish.

Although currently native only to African waterways, fossil evidence suggests that during the Paleogene, they ranged as far north as southern Europe and as far east as the Arabian subcontinent. Fossil remains date back to potentially the Late Paleocene with Hydrocynus remains known from Algeria. Alestid-like teeth are also known from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of France, and phylogenetic evidence also suggests that they diverged around this time.

Taxonomy

thumb|[[Congo tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus)]]

thumb|[[Hydrocynus goliath, the largest species in the family]]

Taxonomy based on Van der Laan 2017 and Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (2026):

  • Family Alestidae <small>Cockerell, 1910</small>
  • Subfamily Petersiinae <small>Poll, 1967</small> (Tanzania robbers)
  • Genus Petersius <small>Hilgendorf, 1894</small>
  • Subfamily Alestinae <small>Cockerell, 1910 (</small>African tetras)
  • Genus Alestes <small>Müller & Troschel, 1844</small>
  • Genus Alestion <small>Roberts, 2019</small>
  • Genus Bathyaethiops <small>Fowler, 1949</small>
  • Genus Brycinus <small>Valenciennes, 1850</small>
  • Genus Bryconaethiops <small>Günther, 1873</small>
  • Genus Bryconalestes <small>Hoedeman, 1951</small>
  • Genus Hydrocynus <small>Cuvier, 1816</small>
  • Genus Ladigesia <small>Géry, 1968</small>
  • Genus Micralestes <small>Boulenger, 1899</small>
  • Genus Rhabdalestes <small>Hoedeman, 1951</small>
  • Genus Tricuspidalestes <small>Poll, 1967</small>
  • Subfamily Clupeocharacinae <small>Pellegrin, 1926</small> (Congo tetras)
  • Genus Alestopetersius <small>Hoedeman, 1951</small>
  • Genus Brachyalestes <small>Günther, 1864</small>
  • Genus Brachypetersius <small>Hoedeman, 1956</small>
  • Genus Clavocharax <small>Wang, Stiassny & Melo, 2026</small>
  • Genus †Arabocharax <small>Micklich & Roscher, 1990</small> (Oligocene of Saudi Arabia) while the right one is based on 2026 study's maximum likelihood tree analyzing UCEs with ultrafast bootstrap support:

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References

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