Aequidens is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined Aequidens is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only exceptions are A. plagiozonatus which also occurs in the Paraná Basin, and A. tetramerus which also occurs in the Parnaíba River.
Nandidae, the leaffish, are a family of small freshwater fishes which some authorities classify in the order Anabantiformes, but which the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family and the related Badidae and Pristolepididae outside that order as "sister-taxa". Fishes of the World classified these families and the Anabantiformes alongside Synbranchiformes, Carangiformes, Istiophoriformes and Pleuronectiformes in a monophyletic clade which is a sister taxon to the Ovalentaria but to which the authors do not assign a rank or a name. According to FishBase, the family includes three genera: Nandus of South and Southeast Asia with several species, and the monotypic Afronandus and Polycentropsis of tropical West and Middle Africa. Most recent authorities place the two African genera in the South American leaffish family, Polycentridae, which is only distantly related to Nandus. Another Asian family, Pristolepididae, share the common name leaffish and appear to be more closely related.
Leaf fish or Leaffish may refer to:
The dottybacks are a family, Pseudochromidae, of fishes which were formerly classified in the order Perciformes, but this has been revised and the family is regarded as of uncertain affinities, or incertae sedis within the Ovalentaria, a clade within the Percomorpha. Around 152 species belong to this family.
Colomesus is a genus of pufferfishes confined to tropical South America. Apart from differences in size, the three species are superficially similar, being green above, white below, and patterned with black transverse bands across the dorsal surface. C. asellus is commonly found in the aquarium trade, while C. psittacus, due to its size and more specialized requirements, is not found as often.
Uaru is a small genus of cichlids found in blackwater and whitewater habitats in the upper Orinoco and the Amazon basin.
The threadfin acara, also known as Heckel's thread-finned acara, is a South American species of cichlid fish. It is the only member of the genus Acarichthys and is native to rivers in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in tropical South America, and has become established in southeastern Asia. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.
Heros severus, is a species of tropical freshwater cichlid native to the upper Orinoco and upper Rio Negro basins in South America. It has historically been confused with several other species in the genus, most recently H. liberifer.
Cynodontinae is a subfamily of tropical and subtropical South American fishes of the family Cynodontidae. They are characterized by an oblique mouth and very long distinct canines, which are used to capture and stab their prey, other fish that can be up to half the length of the cynodontine itself. They are not prized as food fish, but are important in subsistence and commercial fisheries. Hydrolycus are game fish, having been recently added to the International Game Fish Association in the fly and rod class. Cynodontid fish are also sometimes housed in aquaria.
Megalechis is a small genus of freshwater catfish in the Callichthyinae subfamily of the armored catfish family.
Leiarius is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America. Most of the genus' species are found in the aquarium hobby as ornamental fish.
The ornate paradisefish or spotted gourami, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the only recognized species in its genus.
The Badidae are a small family which has been placed in the order Anabantiformes. However, the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the family as being a sister to the Anabantiformes, along with the Nandidae and Pristolepididae in an unnamed and unranked but monophyletic clade which is a sister to the Ovalentaria within the wider Percomorpha. Members of this family are small freshwater fish that are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand. The largest is Badis assamensis that reaches a standard length of up to 7.5 cm (3 in), while the smallest, Dario dario, does not exceed 2 cm (0.8 in).
Polycentrus schomburgkii, also known as the Guyana leaffish is a species of fish belonging to the family Polycentridae. It inhabits fresh and brackish waters, both clear and turbid, of the northeastern part of South America and Trinidad. It reaches a maximum length of 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in).
The fourspine leaffish, is a species of in the Nandidae native to rivers and streams in Ivory Coast and Ghana. Although placed in the family Nandidae by FishBase, most recent authorities place Afronandus in Polycentridae. The specific name honours the collector of the type, Leo Sheljuzhko (1890–1969), a Ukrainian-German entomologist who sent the type to Meinken.
the African leaffish is a species of African leaffish native to fresh waters of western Africa. Although placed in the family Nandidae by FishBase and by the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World many recent authorities place Polycentropsis in Polycentridae.
Polycentrus is a genus of small fish belonging to the family Polycentridae. They are found in fresh and brackish water in northern South America and Trinidad.
The Amazon leaffish, or South American leaffish, is a species of fish belonging to the family Polycentridae. It is found in the Amazon basin in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, where it inhabits edges of rivers and lakes, and streams. It is generally a low-density species that lives in slow-moving or essentially stagnant waters in areas with plant debris.
Pristolepis is a genus of fish in the family Pristolepididae sometimes classified in the order Anabantiformes native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia and India's Western Ghats. This genus is the only member of its family, a family which, with the families Nandidae and Polycentridae is a group of taxa which are sisters to the Anabantiformes and form part of an unnamed and unranked clade within the series Ovalentaria, closest to the Carangiformes. These three families share the common name "leaffish".
The Anabantiformes, collectively known as Labyrinth fish. are an order of air-breathing freshwater ray-finned fish with two suborders, five families and having at least 207 species. In addition, some authorities expand the order to include the suborder Nandoidei, which includes three families - the Nandidae, Badidae and Pristolepididae - that appear to be closely related to the Anabantiformes. The order, and these three related families, are part of a monophyletic clade which is a sister clade to the Ovalentaria, the other orders in the clade being Synbranchiformes, Carangiformes, Istiophoriformes and Pleuronectiformes. This clade is sometimes referred to as the Carangaria but is left unnamed and unranked in Fishes of the World. This group of fish are found in Asia and Africa, with some species introduced in United States of America.
