Ctenolucius is one of the two genera in the pike characin family Ctenoluciidae, a small group of predatory characiforms that converge, in body shape, on true pikes and gars despite no close relationship to either. Both species the atlas tracks, Ctenolucius beani and Ctenolucius hujeta, share the family's elongated, torpedo-shaped body, a long jaw lined with needle-sharp teeth, and a dorsal fin set far back toward the tail, an ambush predator's toolkit for lunging at smaller fish from cover. They range through Caribbean-slope drainages of Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama, generally holding near the surface in quiet, vegetated stretches of river and floodplain.
Ctenolucius hujeta, sold in the trade as the hujeta gar despite being a characin rather than a true gar, is the more familiar of the two among specialist predatory-fish keepers; Ctenolucius beani is less often seen. Both grow to roughly 10–11.5 in and need a long, tightly covered tank, since they are strong jumpers that will clear an open top chasing prey, along with live or appropriately sized frozen fish to eat, as they rarely take to pellets. Wild populations of both species are currently assessed as Least Concern, and the genus is not considered to be under any particular conservation pressure.