Alestes

Alestes is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Alestidae, known as the "African Characidae" as they are found exclusively on that continent. As suggested by that name, they Alestidae was formerly included in Characidae. Myletes was a synonym of Alestes, which was used for various South American serrasalmids too but this name was suppressed by Opinion 1813 of the ICZN.^[2][3]

Alestes
Alestes baremoze
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Characiformes
Family:	Alestidae
Genus:	Alestes J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1846[1]
Type species
Salmo niloticus Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Species
See text.
Synonyms[1]
Alestiops Hoedeman, 1951

Within the Lake Chad basin, Alestes and Hydrocynus, collectively known as salanga, are lightly smoked and dried.^[4]

Species

There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:^[5]

• Alestes ansorgii Boulenger, 1910
• Alestes baremoze (Joannis, 1835) (Silversides)
• Alestes dentex (Linnaeus, 1758) (Characin)
• Alestes inferus Stiassny, Schelly & Mamonekene, 2009
• Alestes liebrechtsii Boulenger, 1898
• Alestes macrophthalmus Günther, 1867 (Torpedo robber)
• Alestes stuhlmannii Pfeffer, 1896