17, see text The Distichodontidae are a family of African freshwater fishes of the order Characiformes.

[1] Two evolutionary grades are found in this family; micropredators (predators of very small organisms like aquatic insect larvae) and herbivores have a nonprotractile upper jaw and a deep to shallow body, while carnivores have a movable upper jaw and an elongated body.

[1] Although the herbivores primarily feed on plant material, these species often have omnivorous tendencies.

The carnivores include specialized fish-eaters (genus Mesoborus), fin-eaters (Belonophago, Eugnathichthys and Phago) and species that will feed on both whole fish and fins (Ichthyborus).

The fin-eaters attack other fish, even ones that are much larger, where they bite off pieces of fins with their sharp teeth.