African arowana

African arowana
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Osteoglossiformes
Family:	Osteoglossidae
Subfamily:	Arapaiminae
Genus:	Heterotis; Rüppell, 1828
Species:	H. niloticus
Binomial name
	Heterotis niloticus; (G. Cuvier, 1829)
	Red:extant , Light red: possibly extant, Green:introduced
Synonyms
	Genus Clupisudis Swainson, 1839; Helicobranchus Hyrtl, 1854; Species Clupisudis niloticus (G. Cuvier, 1829); Sudis nilotica G. Cuvier, 1829; Sudis adansonii G. Cuvier, 1829; Heterotis adansonii (G. Cuvier, 1829); Sudis niloticus Rüppell, 1829 (ambiguous); Heterotis adansoni Valenciennes, 1847; Heterotis ehrenbergii Valenciennes, 1847;

The African arowana or Nile arowana (Heterotis niloticus) is a species of bonytongue. Despite being called an "arowana", the African arowana is more closely related to arapaimas, the only other members in the subfamily Arapaiminae, than the South American, Asian, and Australian arowanas in the subfamily Osteoglossinae (Arapaiminae is sometimes considered to be a separate family from Osteoglossidae). Compared to these, the African arowana has a more terminal mouth and is the only one that feeds extensively on plankton.

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