''Thorichthys'' is a genus of

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 that is native to the Atlantic slope of Middle America, ranging from southern Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, to

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 ...

and

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 ...

, with introduced populations in a few other countries. They tend to inhabit moderately-flowing to standing water such as rivers, streams, lakes, ditches and lagoons, and they are primarily freshwater fish, although ''T. helleri'' and ''T. meeki'' may occur in slightly brackish habitats. ''Thorichthys'' have somewhat pointy heads and stripes down their body, and mostly feed on invertebrates and

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

. Members of ''Thorichthys'' do not exceed in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

, and they are popular

aquarium fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...

, especially the well-known firemouth cichlid (''T. meeki''). Genetic evidence shows that ''Thorichthys'' is most closely related to Salvin's cichlid, the only species of the genus ''Trichromis'', which is morphologically and behaviorally rather different. In contrast, ''Thorichthys'' is not particularly close to ''

Cribroheros ''Cribroheros'' is a genus of cichlid found in Middle America. These freshwater fish are distributed over most of Middle America, from western Panama to southern Mexico, on both Atlantic and Pacific slopes. Depending on species, their habitat r ...

'' despite having several features that are similar.

Species

There are currently 9 recognized species in this genus: * '' Thorichthys affinis'' ( Günther, 1862) (Yellow meeki) * '' Thorichthys aureus'' ( Günther, 1862) (Blue flash) * '' Thorichthys callolepis'' ( Regan, 1904) (San Domingo cichlid) * '' Thorichthys helleri'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...

, 1864) (Yellow cichlid) * '' Thorichthys maculipinnis'' (

, 1864) * '' Thorichthys meeki''

Brind Brind is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, forming part of the civil parish of Wressle. It is situated approximately to the north of the market town of Howden and lies west of the B1228 road. The single track tarmac road (Br ...

, 1918 (Firemouth cichlid) * ''

Thorichthys panchovillai ''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 ...

'' Moral-Flores, López-Segovia & Hernández-Arellano, 2017 * '' Thorichthys pasionis'' ( Rivas, 1962) (Blackgullet cichlid) * ''

Thorichthys socolofi ''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 count ...

'' (

R. R. Miller Robert Rush Miller (April 23, 1916 – February 10, 2003) "was an important figure in American ichthyology and conservation from 1940 to the 1990s." He was born in Colorado Springs, earned his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berke ...

& J. N. Taylor, 1984) (Chiapas cichlid)

References

Heroini Fish of Central America Cichlid genera Taxa named by Seth Eugene Meek {{Cichlidae-stub