Cichlasoma is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. The genus was previously very large, including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America.
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.
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 the exact species.
Aequidens is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined Aequidens is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only exceptions are A. plagiozonatus which also occurs in the Paraná Basin, and A. tetramerus which also occurs in the Parnaíba River.
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. They are found in a wide range of freshwater habitats. They are part of a group popularly known as eartheaters and mostly feed by picking up mouthfuls of sediment to sift out food items such as invertebrates, plant material and detritus. The largest species reach up to 28 cm (11 in) in standard length. They are often kept in aquariums.
Archocentrus is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America. It currently contains a single species, the flier cichlid, which is found in stagnant and slow-moving freshwater habitats such as lakes, ponds, ditches, swamps and rivers in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It is up to 11 cm (4.3 in) long and feeds on invertebrates and detritus.
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 generally are smaller than 9 cm (3.5 in) in length, making them some of the smallest cichlids of the Americas. Only T. preta can grow larger, reaching about 12 cm (4.7 in). Since restricted to areas with fast currents, they are particularly vulnerable to the building of dams, and the Belo Monte Dam may cause the extinction of T. centisquama. Other species recognized as threatened by Brazil's Ministry of the Environment are T. cinderella, T. prionogenys and T. wajapi.
Satanoperca is a small genus of cichlids from South America, where they are known from the Orinoco, Essequibo, Nickerie, Amazon and Paraná–Paraguay river basins. They are mainly found in areas with slow-moving waters, but some species have also been recorded from rapids.
Laetacara is a small genus of cichlids native to freshwater habitats in tropical and subtropical South America, ranging from the upper Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Paraná River basin Argentina. The genus is also collectively known as the smiling acaras. Like all cichlids, Laetacara species have well-developed brood care.
Mesonauta, the flag cichlids, is a small genus of cichlids native to the Amazon, Orinoco, Essequibo, Paraná and Paraguay basins in South America. Mesonauta is included in the subfamily Cichlasomatinae. They occur in various freshwater habitats such as streams and lakes, especially in areas with little water movement and aquatic vegetation. They are generally found in small groups that stay near the water surface. To avoid predators, adults may jump out of the water and juveniles mimic leaves.
The Cichlasomatinae are a subfamily of cichlid fishes, including all ciclids native to the Greater Antilles, United States, Mexico and Central America, and many of the cichlids from South America. The subfamily Cichlasomatinae is often divided into two tribes: Cichlasomatini and Heroini, however some authorities classify these two tribes as part of the wider Neotropical and marginally Nearctic subfamily Cichlinae.
Sven Oscar Kullander is a Swedish biologist specialised in ichthyology. He primarily researches cichlids – notably the genus Apistogramma and the Cichlasoma-complex – and other tropical fresh water fishes. He also has been working with endangered fish species in Sweden.
Heroini is a fish tribe from the Cichlasomatinae subfamily in the cichlid family. All cichlids native to the Greater Antilles, United States, Mexico and northern Central America are members of this tribe. It also includes most cichlid species in southern Central America and several species from South America. A large percentage of its species were formerly placed in the genus Cichlasoma, but have since been moved to other genera.
Andinoacara is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae. The genus was described in 2009. Before this the members of Andinoacara were placed in the "catch-all" genus Aequidens although they are not closely related to the other members of this genus. The genus Andinoacara is restricted to freshwater habitats in northwestern South America and southern Central America. There are no members of the genus in the Amazon Basin.
Symphysodon tarzoo, the green discus, is a species of cichlid native to rivers of the western Amazon Basin upriver from the Purus arch, although it occasionally occurs downstream. An introduced population in the Nanay River is based on stock from the Tefé region. The green discus is found in blackwater habitats with a high temperature of 27–30 °C (81–86 °F) and low pH of 4.8–5.9. Although also known from whitewater, its preference for lentic habitats such as floodplains means that the water contain little suspended material.
Rondonacara hoehnei is a species of cichlid fish of the subfamily Cichlinae. This species is endemic to the upper das Mortes River basin in the Araguaia drainage of central Brazil. This species is the only known member of its genus, but it was formerly included in Aequidens. Although not yet rated by the IUCN, it has been suggested that it is seriously threatened and should be considered critically endangered. The specific name honour the collector of the type specimen, the Brazilian botanist Frederico Carlos Hoehne (1882-1959).
Australoheros facetus, the chameleon cichlid or chanchito, is a species of cichlid from the subfamily Cichlasomatinae which is native to northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil.
Maskaheros is a genus of cichlids fish found on Atlantic slope of southern Mexico and Guatemala in the Coatzacoalcos and Usumacinta River drainages. They are relatively large, high-bodied cichlids and were formerly included in the genus Paraneetroplus or Vieja.
Talamancaheros is a genus of cichlid fish found in fast- and moderately-flowing rivers on the Pacific slope of the Talamanca mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama. Talamancaheros reaches up to 25 cm (10 in) in standard length.
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 5 dentary foramina in the lateralis canal system of the head, describing them as closely related to the genus Cichlasoma. Melanie Stiassny suggested that these fishes recognised as a clade by Kullander were divided into two groupings in 1991 which she termed cichlasomines and heroines, Kullander formally raised these to the tribes Cichlasomatini and Heroini of the subfamily Cichlasomatinae in 1999. In other classifications the tribe Cichlasomatini is placed in the subfamily Cichlinae.
