Characins: Characiformes - Physical Characteristics
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The size and shape of characins (CARE-uh-suhns) vary widely. Some species are quite small, and one is quite large. Most characins are silvery, but some are brightly colored. Most characins have an adipose (AE-dih-POS) fin, a short fin between the dorsal (DOOR-suhl) fin, which is the fin along the midline of the back, and the tail fin. The anal (AY-nuhl) fin, the fin along the midline of the belly, may be short or long, with as many as forty-five rays. Characins have a set of bones that connect the swim bladder, an internal sac used to control position in the water, with the inner ear.
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