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 this grouping. On the basis of fossil evidence, it first appeared in Tanzania during the Eocene epoch, about 46–45 million years ago. The closest living relative of cichlids is probably the convict blenny, and both families are classified in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World as the two families in the Cichliformes, part of the subseries Ovalentaria. This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,650 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families. New species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unknown, with estimates varying between 2,000 and 3,000.
Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a variety of different animals, such as the Darwin's frog, fish are by far the most diverse mouthbrooders. Mouthbrooding has evolved independently in several different families of fish.
Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons, form the family Syngnathidae.
Cardinalfishes are a family, Apogonidae, of ray-finned fishes found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans; they are chiefly marine, but some species are found in brackish water and a few are found in fresh water. A handful of species are kept in the aquarium and are popular as small, peaceful, and colourful fish. The family includes about 370 species.
Tropheus moorii is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Over 40 different color morphs of this species are dispersed throughout the lake, ranging from dark green to flame red and yellow. They mostly feed on filamentous algae on the rocky shallows they inhabit. T. moorii is a maternal mouthbrooder, so eggs are fertilized and young are carried in the mouth of the female while they hatch and develop.
Ostorhinchus fleurieu is a species of cardinalfish native to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the waters around East Africa, Seychelles, India, Sri Lanka, the Indo-Malayan region, and Hong Kong., south to the Ashmore Reef, Western Australia. It is the type species of the genus Ostorhinchus. The specific name honours the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret, comte de Fleurieu (1738-1810) who was a colleague and friend of Lacepède's.
The Banggai cardinalfish is a small tropical cardinalfish in the family Apogonidae. It is the only member of its genus. This attractive fish is popular in the aquarium trade. It is among the relatively few marine fish to have been bred regularly in captivity, but significant numbers are still captured in the wild and it is now an endangered species. The detrimental impact of humans on its environment and certain fatal diseases threaten this species' numbers significantly. Iridovirus diseases are known to be significant reason for fish mortality.
Nimbochromis livingstonii, Livingston's cichlid or (locally) kalingono, is a freshwater mouthbrooding cichlid native to Lake Malawi, an African Rift Lake. It is also found in the upper Shire River and Lake Malombe. They are found in inshore areas of the lake over sandy substrates.
The scissortail sergeant or striptailed damselfish is a large damselfish. It earns its name from the black-striped tail and sides, which are reminiscent of the insignia of a military Sergeant, being similar to those of the sergeant major damselfish. It grows to a length of about 16 centimetres (6.3 in).
Aristochromis christyi is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae, which is endemic to Lake Malawi in Africa. It is the only known member of its genus.
Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, the Jordan mouthbrooder, is a vulnerable species of freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae (cichlids). It is found in the central Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel, Jordan and Syria, making it the only haplochromine cichlid to naturally range outside of Africa. This species is too small to be of significant importance to fisheries, unlike the only other cichlids native to the Levant, the economically important tilapias.
Ostorhinchus cyanosoma, commonly known as the yellow-striped cardinalfish, goldenstriped cardinalfish, or the orange-lined cardinalfish, is a species of marine fish in the cardinalfish family of order Perciformes. It is native to the Indo-West Pacific.
Apogon imberbis, the cardinalfish, the Mediterranean cardinalfish or king of the mullets, is a species of ray-finned fish, a cardinalfish belonging to the family Apogonidae. It is widely distributed in the Mediterranean and along the warm temperate and tropical eastern Atlantic coasts from Portugal south to the Gulf of Guinea.
Filial cannibalism occurs when an adult individual of a species consumes all or part of the young of its own species or immediate offspring. Filial cannibalism occurs in many animal species ranging from mammals to insects, and is especially prevalent in various species of fish. Exact evolutionary purpose of the practice in those species is unclear and there is no verifiable consensus among zoologists; it is agreed upon though that it may have, or may have had at some point in species' evolutionary history, certain evolutionary and ecological implications.
Ostorhinchus sealei, Seale's cardinalfish or the cheek-barred cardinalfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a cardinalfish, from the family Apogonidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species which ranges from Malaysia east to the Solomon Islands, north to southern Japan and south to northwestern Australia, as well as Palau in Micronesia. It is an uncommon species which occurs among branching corals in the sheltered lagoons protected by reefs. It can be found in small to large aggregations low in the water over the reef. It is infrequent below depths of 10 metres (33 ft). They are mouthbrooders which form pairs to mate. During the day these fish shelter in the reef and they emerge at night to feed on zooplankton and benthic invertebrates. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist Alvin Seale (1871-1958).
Ozichthys is a monotypic genus of cardinalfish, which was named and characterized in 2014. Its sole species, Ozichthys albimaculosus, is found in tropical Australia and southern New Guinea.
Paroncheilus affinis, the bigtooth cardinalfish or longtooth cardinalfish, is a species of marine fish in the family Apogonidae and the only member of its genus. The bigtooth cardinalfish lives in the west-central Atlantic, off southern Florida, United States, and from the Bahamas to Venezuela, and as far south as Suriname. This species also is found in the east-central Atlantic and the Gulf of Guinea, and has been reported as far as Cape Verde. It is a pale orangeish colour.
Ostorhinchus capricornis, also known as the Capricorn cardinalfish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a cardinalfish from the family Apogonidae which occurs around reefs in the western Pacific Ocean.
Jaydia queketti, the spotfin cardinal or signal cardinalfish, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Indian Ocean, it is a member of the family Apogonidae. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean Sea by way of the Suez Canal since 2004.
Jaydia smithi, Smith's cardinalfish, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, a member of the family Apogonidae. It has colonised the eastern Mediterranean Sea by way of the Suez Canal since 2007.
