''Parachromis'' is a genus of

cichlids Cichlids are fish from the family (biology), 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 c ...

native to

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. ...

. Some species occur in

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada ( es, Lago de Nicaragua, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world (by area) and the ...

and

Lake Managua Lake Managua ( es, Lago de Managua, ), also known as Lake Xolotlán (), is a lake in Nicaragua. At 1,042 km², it is approximately long and wide. Similarly to the name of Lake Nicaragua, its other name comes from the Nahuatl language, possi ...

. All species are predatory and relatively large for cichlids.

Species

There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * ''

Parachromis dovii ''Parachromis dovii'', the guapote, rainbow bass, or wolf cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to Central America where it occurs on the slopes of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It grows to a length of TL, and it is important to loca ...

'' ( Günther, 1864) (Wolf cichlid, Guapote) * ''

Parachromis friedrichsthalii ''Parachromis friedrichsthalii'', the Yellowjacket cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to Central America where it is found along the Atlantic Slope in Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. This species grows to a length of SL. This spe ...

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

Parachromis loisellei ''Parachromis'' is a genus of cichlids native to Central America. Some species occur in Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua. All species are predatory and relatively large for cichlids. Species There are currently five recognized species in this gen ...

'' ( W. A. Bussing, 1989) * ''

Parachromis managuensis ''Parachromis managuensis'' is a large species of cichlid native to freshwater habitats in Central America, where it is found from Honduras to Costa Rica. The binomial name refers to Lake Managua in Nicaragua, from which the holotype was obtained ...

'' ( Günther, 1867) (Jaguar cichlid, Jaguar guapote) * ''

Parachromis motaguensis ''Parachromis motaguensis'', the False yellowjacket cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to Guatemala and Honduras in Central America. This species grows to a length of TL. This species is farmed. Aquarium care Unlike its close relative t ...

'' ( Günther, 1867) (False yellowjacket cichlid) Confusingly, a review in 2018 of the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

of ''P. friedrichsthalii'' showed that this actually is the species that commonly has been referred to as ''P. loisellei''. As a result, ''P. loisellei'' becomes 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 ''P. friedrichsthalii'', while the yellowjacket cichlid that formerly was incorrectly referred to as ''P. friedrichsthalii'' should be referred to as ''P. multifasciatus''.

References

Heroini Fish of Central America Taxa named by Louis Agassiz Cichlid genera {{cichlidae-stub