The genus Osteoglossum consists of two species:
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
Osteoglossum ferreirai
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum Vandelli, 1829 and Osteoglossum ferreirai Kanazawa, 1966, both have two long barbels on the chin, the upper profile of the head running straight into the outline of the back, the lower outline of the head makes an acute angle with the forehead, the mouth extends to a line below the large eye. The unpaired fins are rather long, the dorsal fin is quite low, the anal rather deep. Juvenile specimens of both species are brightly coloured, adults silvery with darker backs. O. bicirrhosum gets about 100 cm in length. It lives in Guayana and the Amazon basin.