''Herichthys'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of cichlid fishes. Most are

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 else ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, but '' H. cyanoguttatus'' is also found in southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

(United States), and has been introduced to central Texas and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In 2015, the genus was split, and 7 species moved into ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...

''.

Species

There are currently 7 recognized species in this genus. Separate mitochondrial DNA analyses by Husley ''et al''., Rican ''et al''., and Oldfield ''et al''., support ''H. minckleyi'' as monophyletic and

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to all other ''Herichthys ''species. Moreover, molecular analysis conducted separately by López-Fernández, ''et al''., and De la Maza-Benignos, ''et al''., did not support ''H. tamasopoensis'', ''H. cyanoguttatus'', ''H. teporatus'', and ''H. carpintis'' as distinct from each other. However, morphological and zoogeographical analysis by De la Maza-Benignos, ''et al''., confirmed the validity of these four species, as well as differential evolutionary trends. Analysis also supported the separation of ''Herichthys'' into three distinct geomorphological groups + ''H. minckleyi''. These are, from South to North: * ''

Herichthys deppii ''Herichthys deppii'', also known as the Nautla cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to the Nautla and Misantla rivers of Mexico. It reaches a maximum size of TL. The specific name honours the German naturalist, explorer and painter ...

'' ( Heckel, 1840) (Nautla cichlid) * ''

Herichthys tepehua ''Herichthys tepehua'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Mexico where it occurs in the Pantepec, Cazones, Tenixtepec, Tecolutla and Solteros River drainages in the states of Veracruz and Puebla. The specific name alludes to the Tepehua ...

'' De la Maza-Benignos, Ornelas-García, Lozano-Vilano, García-Ramírez & Doadrio, 2015 * ''

Herichthys carpintis ''Herichthys carpintis'', the lowland cichlid, pearlscale cichlid, is a species of cichlid. It is endemic to eastern Mexico where it occurs in the Pánuco River drainage, and the Soto La Marina River in northeastern Mexico, its type locality ...

'' ( D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) (Pearlscale cichlid, lowland cichlid) * ''

Herichthys tamasopoensis ''Herichthys tamasopoensis'', also known as the Tamasopo cichlid, is a species of cichlid endemic to the Tamasopo River of the Panuco River in San Luis Potosí state of central-eastern Mexico. The Tamasopo is a tributary of the Panuco River Pan ...

'' Artigas Azas, 1993 (Tamasopo cichlid) * ''

Herichthys teporatus ''Herichthys teporatus'', also known as the Soto la Marina cichlid, is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Mexico where it occurs in the Soto La Marina River drainage in the state of Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sover ...

'' ( Fowler, 1903) (Soto la Marina cichlid) * ''

Herichthys cyanoguttatus The Texas cichlid (''Herichthys cyanoguttatus'', formerly ''Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum'') is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. This is the only cichlid species that is native to the United States. The fish, also known as Rio Grande cichl ...

'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854) (Texas cichlid, Rio Grande cichlid) * ''

Herichthys minckleyi The Minckley's cichlid (''Herichthys minckleyi'') is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Cuatro Ciénegas in Coahuila, Mexico. The specific name honours the ichthyologist Wendell L. Minckley (1935-2001) of Arizona Sta ...

'' ( Kornfield & J. N. Taylor, 1983) (Minkley's cichlid) The

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously u ...

classifies the genus ''

'' as synonymous with ''Herichthys''.

References

Freshwater fish of Mexico Freshwater fish of the United States Cichlid fish of North America Heroini Cichlid genera Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard {{Cichlidae-stub