''Amatitlania'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

fishes native to freshwater habitats in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

from

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

depending on exact species, although captives may grow larger. Several ''Amatitlania'' species are regularly kept in aquariums, especially the convict cichlids, which are aggressively

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, but some others in the genus are less pugnacious. Some ''Amatitlania'' species have small ranges and are considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

, primarily due to habitat loss and pollution. Four are regarded as priority species in the CARES program, which aims to ensure their survival through captive breeding.

Taxonomy and species

''Amatitlania'' is closely related to ''

Archocentrus ''Archocentrus'' is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America. It currently contains a single species, the flier cichlid (''Archocentrus centrarchus''), which is found in stagnant and slow-moving freshwater habitats such as lakes, ponds, ditch ...

'' and ''

Cryptoheros ''Cryptoheros'' is a genus of small cichlid fishes from Central America and southeast Mexico. They reach up to in length. Taxonomy and species The genus formerly contained nine species that had been included within the genus '' Archocentrus''. ...

'', and among others contains the convict cichlids that were previously placed in those genera. The genus was erected by Juan Schmitter-Soto in 2007 based on a study of the ''Archocentrus'' complex.Schmitter-Soto, J.J. (2007): A systematic revision of the genus ''Archocentrus'' (Perciformes: Cichlidae), with the description of two new genera and six new species. ''Zootaxa, 1603: 1-78.'' A 2008 study led by Oldřich Říčan has suggested that all the species in ''Cryptoheros'' and ''Amatitlania'' should be moved into the genus ''

Hypsophrys ''Hypsophrys'' is a small genus of cichlid fishes from Central America. Species There have been two recognized species in this genus: * '' Hypsophrys nematopus'' ( Günther, 1867) (Poor man's tropheus) * ''Hypsophrys nicaraguensis ''Hypsophr ...

''. There are currently 9 recognized species in ''Amatitlania'': * ''

Amatitlania altoflava ''Amatitlania'' is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, altho ...

'' ( Allgayer 2001) * '' Amatitlania coatepeque'' Schmitter-Soto, 2007 * ''

Amatitlania kanna ''Amatitlania'' is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, altho ...

'' Schmitter-Soto, 2007 * ''

Amatitlania myrnae ''Amatitlania'' is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, altho ...

'' ( Loiselle, 1997) * ''

Amatitlania nanolutea ''Amatitlania'' is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, altho ...

'' (Allgayer, 1994) * ''

Amatitlania nigrofasciata The convict cichlid (''Amatitlania nigrofasciata'') is a fish species from the family Cichlidae, native to Central America, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium fish and have also been the subject of numerous stud ...

'' ( Günther, 1867) (Convict cichlid) * ''

Amatitlania septemfasciata ''Amatitlania septemfasciata'' (sometimes called the Seven-stripe Cichlid or Cutter's Cichlid) is a fish species in the cichlid family. It is found on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica, between the San Juan River drainage and the Banano River. ...

'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1908) * ''

Amatitlania sajica ''Amatitlania sajica'', the T-bar cichlid or Sajica cichlid, is a Central American species of cichlid found in freshwater streams and lakes on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. The fish is tan colored with seven indistinct bars on the body. The t ...

'' ( Bussing, 1974) * ''

Amatitlania siquia ''Amatitlania siquia'', the Honduran red point cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to Central America. These cichlid can be identified by black melanin-based stripes in males and an additional bright orange spot on the abdomen for females. ...

'' Schmitter-Soto, 2007 (Honduran red point cichlid) ''Amatitlania'' can be subdivided into a few different groups, each containing very closely related species. The convict cichlid group includes the main species itself, ''A. nigrofasciata'', as well as ''A. coatepeque'', ''A. kanna'' and ''A. siquia''. A

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

review found that ''A. coatepeque'' is indistinguishable from ''A. nigrofasciata'' (whose distribution entirely surrounds Lake Coatepeque, the locality of ''A. coatepeque''), leading to the recommendation of regarding the former as a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of the latter. Whether the two others in this group, ''A. kanna'' and ''A. siquia'', are sufficiently distinct to be regarded as separate species from ''A. nigrofasciata'' remains unclear. A similar issue exists for the separation of ''A. altoflava'' from ''A. nanoluteus''.

References

Heroini Fish of Central America Cichlid genera {{Cichlidae-stub