Species
There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * ''Rocio gemmata'' Salvador Contreras-Balderas, Contreras-Balderas & Juan Jacobo Schmitter-Soto, Schmitter-Soto, 2007 – from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico * ''Rocio ocotal'' Juan Jacobo Schmitter-Soto, Schmitter-Soto, 2007 – from Lake Ocotal, Mexico * ''Rocio octofasciata'' (Charles Tate Regan, Regan, 1903) (Jack Dempsey) – from Honduras to southern Mexico * ''Rocio spinosissima'' (Léon Vaillant, Vaillant & Jacques Pellegrin, Pellegrin, 1902) – Lake Izabal basin, Guatemala These have historically been placed in the genera ''Cichlasoma'' or ''Heros (fish), Heros'', but they are quite distinct. ''R. gemmata'' and ''R. ocotal'' were typically regarded as populations of the closely related ''R. octofasciata'' until 2007; a review in 2018 recommended that ''R. gemmata'' should be considered a Synonym (taxonomy), synonym of ''R. octofasciata'', whereas a review in 2021 argued that they should be recognized as separate.Etymology
The genus name is derived from name of J. J. Schmitter-Soto's wife. Meaning dew of the morning in Spanish, this ties in with the colorful spotting that is found in members of this genus.References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1941961 Fish of Central America Cichlid genera Heroini