''Aequidens'' is a

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 ...

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cichlidae 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 ...

found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. Formerly a

wastebasket genus Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

Orinoco Basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The Orinoco watershed covers an area of about 990000 km2, making it the third largest in South America, covering most of Venezuela and eastern p ...

and river basins in

The Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France ...

. The only exceptions are ''A. plagiozonatus'' which also occurs in the

Paraná Basin The Paraná Basin ( pt, Bacia do Paraná, es, Cuenca del Paraná) is a large cratonic sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande d ...

, and ''A. tetramerus'' which also occurs in the Parnaíba River.

Taxonomy

Many species formerly placed in this genus have been reallocated to other

genera 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 nomenclat ...

such as '' Andinoacara'', '' Bujurquina'', '' Cleithracara'', ''

Krobia Krobia (german: Kröben) is a town situated in the western part of Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. Center of small folklore region - Biskupizna. History Within the Kingdom of Poland, Krobia was a private church town, administratively l ...

'', '' Laetacara'', '' Rondonacara'' and '' Tahuantinsuyoa''.Ottoni, F.P. & Mattos, J.L.O. (2015): Phylogenetic position and re-description of the endangered cichlid ''Nannacara hoehnei'', and description of a new genus from Brazilian Cerrado (Teleostei, Cichlidae, Cichlasomatini). ''Vertebrate Zoology, 65 (1): 65-79.''

Species

There are currently 17 recognized species in this genus:Musilová, Z., Říčan, O. & Novák, J. (2009
Phylogeny of the Neotropical cichlid fish tribe Cichlasomatini (Teleostei: Cichlidae) based on morphological and molecular data, with the description of a new genus.
''Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 47 (3): 209-304.''Wijkmark, N., Kullander, S.O. & Barriga S., R.E. (2012)
''Andinoacara blombergi'', a new species from the río Esmeraldas basin in Ecuador and a review of ''A. rivulatus'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 23 (2): 117-137.'' * '' Aequidens chimantanus'' Inger, 1956 * '' Aequidens diadema'' ( Heckel, 1840) * '' Aequidens epae'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * '' Aequidens gerciliae'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * '' Aequidens mauesanus'' S. O. Kullander, 1997 * '' Aequidens metae'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1922 * '' Aequidens michaeli'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * '' Aequidens pallidus'' ( Heckel, 1840) (Doublespot acara) * '' Aequidens paloemeuensis'' S. O. Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 * '' Aequidens patricki'' S. O. Kullander, 1984 * '' Aequidens plagiozonatus'' S. O. Kullander, 1984 * '' Aequidens potaroensis'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * '' Aequidens rondoni'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1918) * '' Aequidens superomaculatum'' Hernández-Acevedo, Machado-Allison & Lasso A., 2015Hernández-Acevedo, J.H., Machado-Allison, A. & Lasso, C.A. (2015)
''Aequidens superomaculatum'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae) a new species from the upper Orinoco and Río Negro, Venezuela.
''Biota Colombiana, 16 (2): 96-106.'' * '' Aequidens tetramerus'' ( Heckel, 1840) (Saddle cichlid) * '' Aequidens tubicen'' S. O. Kullander & E. J. G. Ferreira, 1991 * '' Aequidens viridis'' ( Heckel, 1840)

References

Cichlasomatini Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Taxa named by William L. Bray {{Cichlidae-stub