Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the genus Cichla. These are diurnal predatory fishes native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical South America. They are sometimes referred to in English by their Brazilian name tucunaré or their Spanish name pavon. Despite the common name and their superficial similarity, they are not closely related to other fish known as bass, such as the North American largemouth bass.
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 native to 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 mostly kept in aquariums.
The Hypopomidae are a family of fishes in the order Gymnotiformes known as the bluntnose knifefish. They may also be called grass or leaf knifefishes. These electric fish are not often eaten, of little commercial importance, rarely kept as aquarium fish, and poorly studied; however, species in this family may constitute a significant fraction of the biomass in the areas they inhabit.
The Ventuari River is the largest tributary of the Orinoco in southern Venezuela. The Ventuari flows from south-central Venezuela in the Guiana Highlands southwest into the Orinoco River. It is 520 km (320 mi) long and its major tributary is the Manapiare River.
Bujurquina is a genus of cichlid fish endemic to South America. Most species in the genus are restricted to the western Amazon Basin. The only exceptions are B. mariae from the Orinoco Basin, and B. oenolaemus and B. vittata from the Paraguay–Paraná Basin.
Cichla orinocensis, sometimes known as the Orinoco peacock bass, tucunaré or tucunaré miri, is a very large species of cichlid. This peacock bass is native to the Rio Negro and Orinoco River basins in northern South America. It mainly occurs in blackwater rivers. Despite the name, it is not the only peacock bass in the Orinoco, as the river also is home to C. intermedia, C. nigromaculata, and C. temensis. Where it overlaps with the last species, C. orinocensis prefers more slow-moving and shallow waters. They are able to tolerate more turbid waters than other species of peacock bass.
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.
Symphysodon aequifasciatus, the blue discus or brown discus, is a species of cichlid native to rivers of the eastern and central Amazon Basin downriver from the Purus Arch. This discus is found in black-, clear- and whitewater, but its preference for lentic habitats such as floodplains and flooded forests means that the whitewater it inhabits contain little suspended material. It is largely restricted to water with a high temperature of 25–32 °C (77–90 °F) and a pH of 5.2–7.7.
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.
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.
Apistogramma nijsseni is a species of cichlid fish, endemic to highly restricted local black water habitats in the Quebrada Carahuayte, a small stream in the Ucayali River drainage, southern Peru. The male reaches a maximum length of 8 cm (3 in), the female remaining somewhat smaller. Apistogramma brooding females assume a bright yellow and black aposematic coloring: in A. nijsseni, unusually, a healthy, unstressed female retains this coloring. The species is popular aquarium fish amongst dwarf cichlid hobbyists, though it does not often appear in the general pet fish market.
Cichla temensis, the speckled pavon, speckled peacock bass, painted pavon, or three-barred peacock bass, is a very large South American cichlid, and a prized food and game fish. Reaching up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and 13 kg (29 lb) in weight, it is the largest cichlid of the Americas, and perhaps the largest extant cichlid in the world, with only the African giant cichlid possibly reaching similar proportions.
Mazarunia is a genus of cichlids from the Mazaruni River, a tributary of the Essequibo River in Guyana. They are dwarf cichlids that do not surpass 8.5 cm (3.3 in) in length.
Krobia is a genus of cichlid fish native to freshwater habitats in South America, with three species found in the Guianas and a single in the Xingu River basin. They are typically found in small streams or creeks with little current and they feed on small invertebrates. They reach up to 12.8 cm (5.0 in) in standard length. They were formerly included in Aequidens.
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.
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.
Geophagini is a tribe of cichlids from the subfamily Cichlinae, the American cichlids. It is the sister taxon to the clade which includes the Cichlasomatini and Heroini. 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.
