Citharinus is a genus of large, deep-bodied African characiforms in the family Citharinidae, often called moonfish or citharinids. Species occur across major African river systems spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, Chad, Egypt, Niger, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Tanzania - a range that touches both the Congo and Nile basins. Atlas species are large by tetra-relative standards, from about 7 in up to 33 in, with a laterally compressed, silvery body that superficially resembles an oversized silver dollar.
Citharinus species are primarily algae and detritus grazers, using specialized dentition to feed low on the food web, and they are a significant food fish across much of their African range, supporting artisanal and commercial fisheries. They are essentially absent from the aquarium hobby - their adult size and grazing habits make them impractical for home aquaria, and they are kept, if at all, only in very large public or research systems. Conservation status across the genus is uniformly reassuring: all six atlas species are assessed as Least Concern, consistent with their wide distribution and importance as a managed, harvested resource rather than a threatened one.