Fish in the genus collectively go by the common name charal/charales in their native range (a name also used for the related Poblana).

[4][5] Three species are considered extinct: C. bartoni (disappeared 2006), C. charari (1957) and C. compressum (1900).

[7] Chirostoma are generally silvery-white, pale gray-brown or dull yellowish in color, and have a long horizontal line on the side of the body (inconspicuous and more spotty in some species).

[9] Despite the differences, there is great overlap in the food choice of these filter feeders with the main diet being composed of various small organisms (mostly planktonic) such as copepods, cladocerans, rotifers, amphipods, oligochaetes, nematodes, insect larvae, and fish eggs and embryos (including those of silversides).

Chirostoma can be purchased at restaurants on the shores of Lake Chapala in local markets.