The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Characidae \Characidae\ n.
   a natural family of tropical freshwater fishes of Africa and
   southern and central America.

   Syn: family Characidae.
        [WordNet 1.5]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Characidae
    n 1: tropical freshwater fishes of Africa and South America and
         Central America [syn: Characidae, family Characidae]