characin

char·a·cid

C5253100 (kăr′ə-sĭd) also char·a·cin (-sĭn)n. Any of numerous freshwater fishes of the family Characidae, which includes the tetras.

[From New Latin Characidae, family name, from Greek kharax, kharak-, a kind of sea bream.]

characin

(ˈkærəsɪn) or

characid

n (Animals) any small carnivorous freshwater cyprinoid fish of the family Characidae, of Central and South America and Africa. They are similar to the carps but more brightly coloured[C19: from New Latin Characinidae, from characinus, from Greek kharax a fish, probably the sea bream]

char•a•cin

(ˈkær ə sɪn)

also char•a•cid

(-ˌsɪd)

n. any freshwater fish of the family Characidae, of Africa and Central and South America. [1880–85; < French < New Latin Characini a subgeneric group (Linnaeus) « Greek chárax pointed stake, a kind of fish]

Thesaurus

Noun

characin - any freshwater fish of the family Characinidaecharacid, characin fishcypriniform fish - a soft-finned fish of the order CypriniformesCharacidae, family Characidae - tropical freshwater fishes of Africa and South America and Central Americatetra - brightly colored tropical freshwater fishescardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi - small bright red and blue aquarium fish from streams in Brazil and Colombiacaribe, pirana, piranha - small voraciously carnivorous freshwater fishes of South America that attack and destroy living animals

characin

enUK

characin

(kâr`əsĭn) or

characid

(–sĭd), common name for members of the Characidae, a large and diverse family comprising 700 species of freshwater fishes. The characins are related to the carp and the catfish. They are found in Africa and in tropical America, especially in the Amazon. Most species are active and predacious. Most notorious are the piranhas, or caribes (Serrasalmus species), although some authorities class these in a separate family, Serrasalmidae. With their powerful jaws and razor-sharp triangular teeth, piranhas are capable of killing humans and cattle, though such deadly attacks are rare. Various small, colorful characin species, called tetras, are used in aquariums. A small characin found in Mexican streams is interesting for the stages of blindness it exhibits: those living deep in caves are eyeless; those found near the entrance have imperfect eyes; and the specimens living in open water have normal eyes. A cross of a blind with a normal specimen produces offspring with varying degrees of eye degeneracy. Characins are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Actinopterygii, order Cypriniformes, family Characidae.

characin

char·a·cid

characin

characid

char•a•cin

also char•a•cid

characin

characin

characid

characin

Synonyms for characin

noun any freshwater fish of the family Characinidae

Synonyms

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