The Skeptical Aquarist

When we talk about "Characins" we're using an old-fashioned term to describe tetras and their kin. If we were being consistent, we'd call them "Characids." In the Tree of Life Web Project, the Characiform fishes are described, and the relationships among their 14 or 16 families (still under hot debate) are laid out in the kind of genealogical chart called "cladistics".