''Cichlasoma'' 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 ...
of
freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...
in the
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 ...
family. The genus was previously very large (a
wastebasket taxon), including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America.
Reclassification and subsequent splitting of the genus by
Sven O. Kullander
Sven Oscar Kullander (born 30 November 1952 in Sollefteå) is a Swedish biologist specialised in ichthyology.
He primarily researches cichlids – notably the genus ''Apistogramma'' and the ''Cichlasoma''-complex – and other tropical fresh ...
and other
ichthyologists has resulted in removing many of the former
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
from ''Cichlasoma'' to genera such as ''
Amphilophus'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Herichthys'', ''
Heros'', ''
Nandopsis
''Nandopsis'' is a small genus of cichlid fishes found in lakes, streams and rivers in Cuba and Hispaniola. ''Nandopsis'' are the only cichlids native to the Antilles.
Species
The genus currently contains three species. An additional species, ...
'', ''
Parachromis'', ''
Thorichthys
''Thorichthys'' is a genus of cichlid fish that is native to the Atlantic slope of Middle America, ranging from southern Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, to Guatemala and Honduras, with introduced populations in a few other countr ...
'', ''
Vieja
''Vieja'' is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America and Mexico. The majority of the species are freshwater fish found in stagnant or slow-moving waters of southern Mexico to El Salvador, but ''V. maculicauda'', which also occurs in brack ...
'' and others in the tribe
Heroini
Heroini is a fish tribe from the Cichlasomatinae subfamily in the cichlid family. All cichlids native to the Greater Antilles, United States (southern Texas), Mexico and northern Central America are members of this tribe. It also includes most ...
.
Species
According to
FishBase
FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web. , there are currently sixteen recognized species in this genus,
but three very different Middle American
taxa ("''C.''"'' geddesi'' a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''
Herichthys deppii'', and "''C.''"'' istlanum'' and "''C.''"'' trimaculatum'' placed in ''
Amphilophus'') are not included by
Catalog of Fishes, effectively limiting ''Cichlasoma'' to a group of rather similar, medium-small cichlids of South America.
* ''
Cichlasoma amazonarum''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma araguaiense''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma bimaculatum
''Cichlasoma bimaculatum'' is an omnivorous, freshwater, tropical fish commonly referred to as the black acara or two-spot cichlid. It is most frequently classified in the Cichlidae ( Cichlid) family and subfamily of Cichlasomatinae. It is foun ...
''
( Linnaeus, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...
) (Black acara)
* ''
Cichlasoma boliviense''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma dimerus''
( Heckel, 1840)
* ''
Cichlasoma geddesi
''Cichlasoma'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. The genus was previously very large (a wastebasket taxon), including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America.
Reclassification and subsequent ...
''
(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'' ...
, 1905)
* ''
Cichlasoma istlanum''
( D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899)
* ''
Cichlasoma orientale''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma orinocense''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma paranaense''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma portalegrense''
( R. F. Hensel, 1870)
* ''
Cichlasoma pusillum''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma santifranciscense''
S. O. Kullander, 1983
* ''
Cichlasoma taenia''
( E. T. Bennett, 1831) (Brown coscarob)
* ''
Cichlasoma trimaculatum''
( Günther, 1867) (Three spot cichlid)
* ''
Cichlasoma zarskei''
Ottoni, 2011
References
Cichlasomatini
Cichlid fish of Central America
Cichlid fish of North America
Freshwater fish of Mexico
Cichlid genera
Taxa named by William John Swainson
{{Cichlidae-stub