''Parachromis'' is a genus of
cichlids
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 th ...
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 t ...
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''
( Günther, 1864) (Wolf cichlid, Guapote)
* ''
Parachromis friedrichsthalii''
( Heckel, 1840) (Yellowjacket cichlid)
* ''
Parachromis loisellei''
( W. A. Bussing, 1989)
* ''
Parachromis managuensis''
( Günther, 1867) (Jaguar cichlid, Jaguar guapote)
* ''
Parachromis motaguensis''
( Günther, 1867) (False yellowjacket cichlid)
Confusingly, a review in 2018 of the
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular 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 anchor or centralizes th ...
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, Linn ...
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