''Amphilophus chancho'' is a large

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 ...

fish

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Lake Apoyo in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

.Stauffer JR, Jr., McCrary JK, & Black KE (2008)
Three new species of cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua
. PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 121(1):117–129 The six ''

Amphilophus ''Amphilophus'' is a genus of cichlid fishes from Central America, ranging from southern Mexico to Panama. The genus currently contains 23 species, including several that are well-known from the aquarium trade. However, studies led by Oldřich ...

'' species found in Lake Apoyo show morphological differences.Geiger MF, McCrary JK, & Stauffer JR, Jr. (2010): Description of two new species of the Midas cichlid complex (Teleostei:Cichlidae) from Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua; PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 123(2):159–173 Multiple species of this group have been identified and verified by

genomic Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, three-dim ...

and

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

evidence in the volcanic crater lake Apoyo and another Nicaraguan crater lake, Xiloá. The genetic evidence from Apoyo supports a hypothesis that the six known species of the lake evolved via

sympatric speciation Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, sympatric and sympatry are terms referring to organi ...

.Geiger MF, McCrary JK, Schliewen U (2010): Not a simple case – A first comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis for the Midas cichlid complex in Nicaragua (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Amphilophus); Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56:1011-1024 A few to perhaps several dozen species fitting the

biological species concept The species problem is the set of questions that arises when biologists attempt to define what a species is. Such a definition is called a species concept; there are at least 26 recognized species concepts. A species concept that works well for se ...

are considered to exist among what has historically been called '' A. citrinellus'', the great majority of which have not been described to date. The nine most recently described members of this

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

are considered endemic to their respective small, volcanic crater lakes.

References

* FishBase (2006) Eds. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. World Wide Web electronic publication
fishbase.org
version (07/2006)

External links

* "Mojarras de Apoyo a Museo Smithsonian" (in Spanish

* "Hallan Nuevas Mojarras" (in Spanis

* "El Nuevo Charco de Suenos de Darwin" (in Spanis

* "The Little Apoyo Cichlid, ''Amphilophus astorquii'

* "Video of endemic ''Amphilophus'' cichlids in Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua

* "Amphilophus astorquii in a multspecies school

* "Nesting ''Amphilophus globosus'' photographed

* "Chancho Cichlid

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136077 Amphilophus, chancho Fish of Central America Fish of Nicaragua Taxa named by Jay Richard Stauffer Jr. Taxa named by Jeffrey K. McCrary Taxa named by Kristin E. Black Fish described in 2008