''Parachromis friedrichsthalii'', the Yellowjacket cichlid, is a

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

where it is found along the Atlantic Slope in

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 ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

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 ...

. This species grows to a length of SL. This species is popular with anglers as a gamefish and can also be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n explorer, botanist and archaeologist Emanuel von Friedrichsthal (1809-1842), who sent many specimens to Vienna from Central America, including the type of this fish. ''P. friedrichsthalii'' has an unusual hunting mechanism. The species has been observed to lie immobile near the bottom, feigning death. When smaller fish approach and attempt to pick at the dead fish, ''P. friedrichsthalii'' ambush the smaller fish. Similar behaviour has also been observed in some species of

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

cichlids, particularly from the genus ''

Nimbochromis ''Nimbochromis'' is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids mostly endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They are known as sleeper cichlids or ''kaligono'' ("sleepers" in Chichewa) due to their unique hunting behaviour. These piscivorous speci ...

''.

Description

Physically similar to other members of the genus, especially '' P. managuensis'' and '' P. motaguensis'', ''P. freidrichsthalii'' holds the broken band which runs horizontally. The most distinct characteristic which enables the correct identification of this fish, is the golden-yellow colouration which is more prominent in this fish than the others. However, '' P. loiselli'' also possesses such gold and yellow colouration. A distinct characteristic which enables these two fish to be easily separated is the distinctly un-broken dark band seen on ''P. friedrichsthalii''. The dark spots which is found on ''P. loiselli'' ıs often so closely grouped that it appears to be a single solid band. ''P. loiselli'' can also be identified by its main colouration. Unlike all other members ın the genus, ''P. loiselli's'' main color is a solid yellow colouration.

References

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Photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachromis Friedrichsthalii friedrichsthalii Fish described in 1840 Taxa named by Johann Jakob Heckel