small, stopping before it reaches under the eye. In all Iguanodectes, the maxilla bears a set of multicuspid incisor teeth that are flared out at the tip and contracted at the base. The premaxilla also has one or two teeth on each side, forming an "outer set". Little else is known of their ecology, but members of Iguanodectes utilize this setup for a primarily herbivorous diet. Though the allusion was not clear in the original text, modern etymologists has come to the conclusion that the name of the genus originates in Greek and translates to "lizard bite", in reference to the dentition. As a result of this, the common name "lizard bite tetra" has been suggested for the entire family Iguanodectidae, but has not been accepted. Taxonomy There are 8 valid species in Iguanodectes. In alphabetical order, they are: Iguanodectes adujai (Géry, 1970) Iguanodectes geisleri (Géry, 1970) Iguanodectes gracilis (Géry, 1993) Iguanodectes polylepis (Géry, 1993) Iguanodectes purusii (Steindachner, 1908) Iguanodectes rachovii (Regan, 1912) Iguanodectes spilurus (Günther, 1864) Iguanodectes variatus (Géry, 1993) Iguanodectes, along with the genus Piabucus, is in the subfamily Iguanodectinae; In turn, Iguanodectinae is in the family Iguanodectidae, both of which get their name from Iguanodectes. In 1909, ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann proposed Iguanodectinae as a subfamily, which was solely home to Iguanodectes at the time. In 1929, Iguanodectinae grew to encompass Piabucus as well. In 1954, ichthyologist James Erwin Böhlke reconfirmed that the two genera should form a clade by way of morphology. Iguanodectinae and the monotypic Bryconops clade make up the family Iguanodectidae. The first member of Iguanodectes to be classified, I. spilurus, was originally described as Piabuca spilurus by zoologist Albert Günther in 1864. In 1872, biologist Edward Drinker Cope described the same species as Iguanodectes tenuis. Cope's placement of the species into a new genus was later accepted, but it adopted the specific epithet given by Günther. Upon being described, Iguanodectes was considered a characin (member of the family Characidae). This was still the case when it was placed in the subfamily Iguanodectinae in 1909. However, research by Oliviera et al. in 2011 prompted authorities to move Iguanodectinae and Bryconops to Iguanodectidae, which had been revived from Eigenmann's work. This was done based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence, as well as keeping Characidae monophyletic. As a fairly new taxon, Iguanodectinae is not listed in several databases; sources such as NCBI and the Interim Register