| Chilodidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chilodus sp. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Suborder: | Characoidei |
| Family: | Chilodidae C. H. Eigenmann, 1903 [1] |
| Genera | |
2, See text | |
| Synonyms | |
Chilodontidae Eigenmann, 1903 [1] | |
The Chilodidae, 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, Chilodinae, within Anostomidae.
This family was formerly referred to as "Chilodontidae". Due to issues of homonymy with two other family-rank names called "Chilodontidae", the fish family was required to change spelling to Chilodidae. [2]
Chilodids 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. [3]
