Geophagini is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

of cichlids from the subfamily Cichlinae, the American cichlids. It is the sister taxon to the clade which includes the

Cichlasomatini Cichlastomatini is a tribe of cichlids from South America, one of two tribes that make up the subfamily Cichlasomatinae. They were recognised in 1983 as an assemblage by the Swedish ichthyologist Sven O. Kullander by their four rather than five ...

and

Heroini Heroini is a fish tribe from the Cichlasomatinae subfamily in the cichlid family. All cichlids native to the Greater Antilles, United States (southern Texas), Mexico and northern Central America are members of this tribe. It also includes most ...

. Fishes in the Geophagini are distributed from Panama south to Argentina, it is the most speciose of the seven tribes within the Cichlinae and it is subdivided into three sub-tribes, Acarichthyina, Crenicaratina, and Geophagina which together contain over 200 species. Geophagines show morphological and behavioural specialisations to enable them to sift the substrates within their mouths so that they can separate benthic invertebrates from substrates dominated by sand or silt.

Classification

The Geophagini are classified as follows: * Subtribe Acarichthyina Kullander, 1998 ** Genus '' Acarichthys'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 ** Genus ''

Guianacara ''Guianacara'' is a small genus of cichlid fish endemic to freshwater habitats in the Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escud ...

'' Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 * Subtribe Crenicaratina Kullander, 1998 ** Genus ''

Biotoecus ''Biotoecus'' is a fish genus of cichlids from northern South America where one species ''(B. dicentrarchus)'' is found in the Orinoco Basin The Orinoco Basin is the part of South America drained by the Orinoco river and its tributaries. The ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903 ** Genus ''

Crenicara ''Crenicara'' is a small genus of cichlid fishes native to creeks and rivers in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in South America. These cichlids have several dark spots on the sides of their bodies, and do not surpass in length. In the past, ...

'' Steindachner, 1875 ** Genus ''

Crenicichla ''Crenicichla'' is a genus of cichlids native to South America commonly known as the pike cichlids. They are found in most tropical and subtropical freshwater habitats between the Andes and the Atlantic. Description The smallest species of ''Cre ...

'' Heckel, 1840 ** Genus ''

Dicrossus ''Dicrossus'' is a genus of small cichlid fishes native to rivers in the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. These cichlids have several dark spots on the sides of their bodies (although very faint in some). Depending on the species, th ...

'' Steindachner, 1875 ** Genus ''

Teleocichla ''Teleocichla'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in the Tapajós, Xingu, Tocantins and Jari River basins, which are part of the Amazon River Basin in Brazil. All species are rheophilic, and highly elongated in shape. They gener ...

'' Kullander, 1988 * Subtribe Geophagina Haseman, 1911 ** Genus ''

Apistogramma ''Apistogramma'' is a large genus of freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America, but also commonly kept in aquariums. They are dwarf cichlids that mostly feed on tiny animals and have breeding behaviors that vary depending on ...

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1913 ** Genus ''

Apistogrammoides ''Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis'' is a South American dwarf cichlid that reaches up to in standard length. This fish is found in the western Amazon basin, including the systems of the lower Ucayali, lower Japurá and upper Amazon River, in ...

'' Meinken, 1965 ** Genus ''

Biotodoma ''Biotodoma'' is a small genus of cichlids native to rivers in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo basins in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903 ** Genus ''

Geophagus ''Geophagus'' is a genus of cichlids that mainly live in South America as far south as Argentina and Uruguay, but a single species, ''G. crassilabris'' is from Panama.Mattos, J.L.O., Costa, W.J.E.M. & Santos, A.C.A. (2015): ''Geophagus diamantin ...

'' Heckel, 1840 ** Genus ''

Gymnogeophagus ''Gymnogeophagus'' is a genus of cichlid fishes from South America, where they are known from various river basins (notably Rio de la Plata and Lagoa dos Patos– Mirim) in southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. They are part ...

'' Miranda-Ribeiro, 1918 ** Genus '' Mazarunia'' Kullander, 1990 ** Genus ''

Mikrogeophagus ''Mikrogeophagus'' is a genus of small cichlids native to the Amazon basin in South America. M. ''ramirezi'' is native to the Llanos of the Orinoco basin. M. ''altispinosus'' is from the Rio Mamoré and the middle and lower Rio Guaporé basins ...

'' Meulengracht-Madsen, 1968 ** Genus '' Satanoperca'' Günther, 1862 ** Genus '' Taeniacara'' G. S. Myers, 1935

References

{{taxonbar, from =Q134264 Cichlinae Fish tribes