The Cichlid Room Companion

Last updated

The Cichlid Room Companion (CRC) is a membership-based webpage dedicated to the fishes of the Cichlid family ( Cichlidae ). The site was launched in May 1996 and offers arguably the most comprehensive authoritative catalogue of cichlids on the web, which is illustrated with more than 25,000 photographs of fishes and 2,000 of habitats, as well as over 300 videos [1] of cichlids and their habitats. It also “offers access to ample information about 253 genera and 2371 species”, a discussion forum as well as many articles about taxonomy, natural history, fish-keeping, field accounts, conservation, and other cichlid related topics; mostly written by citizen scientists and people who specialize in cichlids. The species summaries provided in the form of profiles include taxonomic, distribution and habitat, distribution maps, conservation, natural history, captive maintenance, images, videos, collection records, and an extensive bibliography of the species included and have been prepared by world-class specialists. A document [2] establishes the standards followed in the preparation and maintenance of the cichlid catalogue. The site is administered by its creator and editor, Juan Miguel Artigas-Azas, a naturalist, who is also an aquarist and a nature photographer. In 2008, the American Cichlid Association (ACA) awarded Artigas-Azas the Guy Jordan Retrospective Award, [3] which is the maximum honor that association gives to people who have done extensive contribution to the international cichlid hobby.

Contents

Contributions to public understanding of science

In the past decade, the Internet has fundamentally transformed the relationships between the scientific community and society as a whole, as the boundaries between public and private, professionals and hobbyists fade away; allowing for a wider range of participants to engage with science in unprecedented ways. [4] The educational and citizens science task of the CRC has been acknowledged in the formal scientific literature, both as a source of data, information, and awareness among fish hobbyists about topics like the threat of releases of invasive species from domestic aquaria, as well as promoting ethical behavior in the fish hobby. [5] Furthermore, while for the most part, the CRC is a popular resource, a number of articles in it have some academic value, and have been cited as primary sources in the scholarly literature. [6] [7] [8]

Criticism

Biological systematics is a scientific discipline, which requires scientific training. It is often professed in the scientific community that reliable contention of scientific papers is restricted to scientific publications, that are backed up with scientific facts. [9] "Hobby publications are non-scientific literature", and the scholarly use or discussion of names and other nomenclatural acts "dropped in the hobby is entirely questionable". [6] [9] Hobby articles, both printed and electronic, are usually published on the approval of the editors, whereas in a scientific journal, by contrast, all articles are peer reviewed. [10] [11] [12] Moreover, in the case of the CRC, the site is not edited by a person educated in systematics or with an advanced degree in ichthyology or a related field. [13] As of January, 2015, the catalogue section in the CRC displayed a disclaimer [14] [15] stating that they are "not to be considered as published in the sense of the Code, and statements made therein are not made available for nomenclatural purposes". Even so, the site has been criticized for censoring taxonomic information based on its editor's arbitrary, personal, subjective views (e.g. the synonymy of Paraneetroplus and Viejasensu McMahan et al. 2010 (prior to 2015); [16] the validity of Maylandia Meyer & Foerster 1984 vs its junior synonym Metriaclima Stauffer, J. R., Jr. and K. A. Kellogg 2002; [17] the split of genus Nosferatu De la Maza-Benignos, et al. 2014 [18] from Herichthys ,; [17] [19] or the recent review of the taxonomy and systematics of the herichthyns; [20] [21] [22] ), on the basis of an anticonventional argument that official, in the sense of the Code, nomenclatural acts [23] are not “mandatory” (see editor's comments). [24] [25] [26] [27] Some of the views have been corroborated by the scientific community, as has been the case of the genus Nosferatu that that is considered a junior synonym of Herichthys, [28] [29] while the synonymy of Vieja and Paraneetroplus was not initially accepted in 2015 in the CRC although, in 2016, [29] it was proven that the genera are not synonymous.

Related Research Articles

<i>Cichlasoma</i> Genus of fishes

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.

<i>Vieja</i> Genus of fishes

Vieja is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America and Mexico. The majority of the species are freshwater fish found in stagnant or slow-moving waters of southern Mexico to El Salvador, but V. maculicauda, which also occurs in brackish waters, ranges south to Panama. They are high-bodied cichlids that reach lengths of up to 17–35 cm (7–14 in) depending on the exact species. Vieja feed mostly on vegetable matter, but may also take small invertebrates.

<i>Herichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Herichthys is a genus of cichlid fishes native to North and Central America. Most are endemic to Mexico, but H. cyanoguttatus is also found in southern Texas, and has been introduced to central Texas and Florida.

Barton's cichlid is a species of cichlid endemic to freshwater springs in the upper Panuco River basin of San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cichlasomatinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

The Cichlasomatinae are a subfamily of cichlid fishes, including all cichlids 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.

<i>Rocio</i> Genus of cichlid fishes

Rocio is a small genus of cichlid freshwater fishes from southern Mexico and northern Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heroini</span> Tribe of cichlid fishes

Heroini is a fish tribe from the Cichlasomatinae subfamily in the family Cichlidae (cichlids). 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.

Nosferatu labridens, the curve-bar cichlid, is a species of cichlid freshwater fish endemic to the Laguna Media Luna and headwaters of the Río Verde between 1,000–1,100 m (3,300–3,600 ft) above sea level in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Its range is a part of the upper Panuco River basin. It shares its distribution with the related Nosferatu bartoni. Nosferatu labridens can reach a maximum total length of 25 cm (10 in). It is endangered due to habitat loss, pollution and introduced species.

Nosferatu pantostictus, the Chairel cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to the Panuco River drainage of Mexico's Atlantic coast where it is mostly found in moderately fast flowing rivers, slightly brackish, murky lakes and lagoons along the coast. It reaches a maximum size of 12.6 centimetres (5.0 in) SL though most do not exceed 5.6 centimetres (2.2 in) TL. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.

<i>Nosferatu steindachneri</i> Species of fish

Nosferatu steindachneri, Steindachner's cichlid, is a species of cichlid endemic to Mexico where it is found in the Tamasopo, Gallinas and Ojo Frio Rivers of the Panuco River basin. It reaches a maximum size of 40.0 centimetres (15.7 in) SL. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade. The specific name honours the Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919).

<i>Nosferatu molango</i> Species of fish

Nosferatu molango, also known as Atezca Cichlid, is a species of cichlid endemic to the "Laguna Atezca", in the headwaters of the Rio Moctezuma, in the municipality of Molango, state of Hidalgo, Mexico at 1,270 meters above sea level. It is distinguished from other species of the genus in "having a slender, well-spaced, unicuspid and conical, posterior slightly flattened, indented lower pharyngeal plate, with 2 rows of 8–9 medium-sized, lightly pigmented molars that flank the midline; 11–13 nonenlarged conic teeth along the posterior margin. Distinguished from all other species in the genus by a combination of the following characters: predorsal contour deep and nonacute, which is not concave before the eye; head short, rostral tip to the pectoral fin origin distance ; caudal peduncle short and deep, long anal fin ; wide preorbit ; eye small. Peritoneum is uniformly very dark."

<i>Nosferatu pratinus</i> Species of fish

Nosferatu pratinus, also known as green labridens or mojarra caracolera verde in Spanish, is a species of cichlid "endemic to the Rio el Salto,in the Rio Pánuco Basin in Mexico. The river runs through the Sierra La Colmena, where a series of pools and cascades called “Micos” occur. The area includes seven cascades with heights of five meters or more. Up the river is a town called El Naranjo, which is 102 km north from Ciudad Valles at the border between the States of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí. Two kilometers upstream from El Naranjo exists a series of pools and cascades, such as El Salto and El Meco, which are 70-m and 35-m high, respectively; both sites are inhabited by H. pratinus."

<i>Nosferatu pame</i> Species of fish

Nosferatu pame, previously placed in the genus Herichthys, also known as labridens 'white' or mojarra caracolera blanca in Spanish, is a species of cichlid "endemic to the main stem and tributaries of the Rio Gallinas, including Rio Tamasopo, Ojo Frío, and Agua Buena, upriver from the Tamul cascade" in the Pánuco River Basin, San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

<i>Nosferatu</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

Nosferatu is a genus of cichlid fishes endemic to the Río Pánuco Basin and the tributaries of the adjacent Tamiahua Lagoon and San Andrés Lagoon in the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Querétaro, Mexico. The genus is characterized by a prolongation in the size of the symphysial pair of teeth relative to that of the other teeth in the outer row of the upper jaw ; breeding pigmentation that consists of darkening of ventral area extending over nostrils, opercular series, and pectoral fins; depressed dorsal fin rarely expands beyond anterior third of caudal fin; and an elongated, elastic, smooth caecum adhered to a saccular stomach.

<i>Herichthys teporatus</i> Species of fish

Herichthys teporatus, also known as the Soto la Marina cichlid, is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Mexico where it occurs in the Soto La Marina River drainage in the state of Tamaulipas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauricio De la Maza-Benignos</span>

Mauricio de la Maza-Benignos is a Mexican conservationist, naturalist, zoologist and multi award winning filmmaker. He is also a member of Mexico's National System of Researchers. In addition to his work in ichthyology, he is an agronomist and zootechnician, a jurist, an administrator, and an editor.

<i>Maskaheros</i> Genus of fishes

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.

Kihnichthys ufermanni, the Usumacinta cichlid, is a species of cichlid found in a few rivers in the Usumacinta River basin in Guatemala and southern Mexico. It typically occurs in rivers that are about 10–50 m (33–164 ft) wide, fairly deep, have few or no aquatic plants, and a variable water current. This species is the only known member of its genus, but several of its features, including the chisel-like teeth, are shared with Cincelichthys and whether they should be merged into a single genus is not yet fully resolved; a review in 2020 recommended that the Usumacinta cichlid should be moved into Cincelichthys. The Usumacinta cichlid reaches a standard length of 25 cm (10 in).

<i>Cincelichthys</i> Genus of fishes

Cincelichthys is a genus of high-bodied cichlids found in southern Mexico to Guatemala, where they inhabit lakes, rivers and other freshwater habitats. They are large cichlids, up to 35–42.5 cm (14–17 in) long depending on species, with females reaching smaller sizes than males.

The Montecristo cichlid is a species of freshwater fish from the Atlantic slope of southern Mexico and Guatemala. This cichlid occurs in lagoons, creeks and rivers with slight to moderate current in the Grijalva–Usumacinta, Candelaria, Champotón and Coatzacoalcos river drainages. It is currently recognized as the only species in its genus, but it is closely related to –and possibly should be merged into– Vieja. The Montecristo cichlid reaches up to 24 cm (9.4 in) in standard length.

References

  1. ↑ "Membership form | Cichlid Room Companion". Cichlidae.com. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Our cichlid catalog - This site | Cichlid Room Companion". Cichlidae.com. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "Guy D. Jordan Retrospective Award | American Cichlid Association". Cichlid.org. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Grand, A., Wilkinson, C., Bultitude, K., & Winfield, A. F. (2014). Mapping the hinterland: Data issues in open science. Public Understanding of Science, 0963662514530374
  5. ↑ Maceda‐Veiga, A., Domínguez‐Domínguez, O., Escribano‐Alacid, J., & Lyons, J. (2014). The aquarium hobby: can sinners become saints in freshwater fish conservation?. Fish and Fisheries
  6. 1 2 Kullander, Sven O. "Nomenclatural availability of putative scientific generic names applied to the South American cichlid fish Apistogramma ramirezi Myers & Harry, 1948 (Teleostei: Cichlidae). 2011. Zootaxa 3131: 35-51.
  7. ↑ Oldfield, R. G., Mandrekar, K., Nieves, M. X., Hendrickson, D. A., Chakrabarty, P., Swanson, B. O., & Hofmann, H. A. Parental care in the Cuatro Ciénegas cichlid, Herichthys minckleyi (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Hydrobiologia, 1-25
  8. ↑ De La Maza-Benignos, M., & Lozano-Vilano, M. L. (2013). Description of three new species of the genus Herichthys (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from eastern Mexico, with redescription of H. labridens, H. steindachneri, and H. pantostictus. Zootaxa, 3734(2), 101-129.
  9. 1 2 Kullander, Sven O. "How embarrassing can it get? Or: Taxonomy undermined." 2012. TAPROBANICA: The Journal of Asian Biodiversity 4.1: 1-4.
  10. ↑ "Popular vs Trade vs Scholarly | Libraries | Colorado State University". Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  11. ↑ "Scholarly vs. Popular Sources | Yale College Writing Center". Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  12. ↑ "Naming Cichlids - Cichlidae Taxonomy". Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  13. ↑ "Curriculo | Juan Miguel Artigas Azas". Juanartigas.org. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Heymann, L. A. (2010). Reading the Product: Warnings, Disclaimers, and Literary Theory. Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, 22, 393-415.
  15. ↑ "Spare us the e-mail yada-yada". The Economist . 7 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  16. ↑ McMahan, C. D.; Geheber, A. D.; Piller, K. R. (2010). "Molecular systematics of the enigmatic middle American genus Vieja (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (3): 1293–1300. Bibcode:2010MolPE..57.1293M. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.005. PMID   20849962.
  17. 1 2 "CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes". Research.calacademy.org. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  18. ↑ De la Maza-Benignos, M., Ornelas-García, C. P., Lozano-Vilano, M.d.L., García-Ramírez, M.E. & Doadrio, I. (2015). "Phylogeographic analysis of genus Herichthys (Perciformes: Cichlidae), with descriptions of Nosferatu new genus and H. tepehua n. sp.". Hydrobiologia, 748 (1): 201–231.
  19. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Nosferatu De la Maza-Benignos, Ornelas-Garcia, Lozano-Vilanio, García-Ramírex et al., 2014". Marinespecies.org. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  20. ↑ Mcmahan, C. D.; Matamoros, W. A.; Piller, K. R.; Chakrabarty, P. (2015). "Taxonomy and systematics of the herichthyins (Cichlidae: Tribe Heroini), with the description of eight new Middle American Genera" (PDF). Zootaxa . 3999 (2): 211–234. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3999.2.3 . PMID   26623572. S2CID   34699955 . Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Major Changes in New World Cichlid Taxonomy". Seriouslyfish.com. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "Huge shake-up in cichlid taxonomy | News | Practical Fishkeeping". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  23. ↑ Minelli A. (2005). "Publications in Taxonomy as Scientific Papers and Legal Documents" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 56, Supplement I, No. 20: 225–231. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  24. ↑ "The Cichlid Room Companion • View topic - Microgeophagus Frey, 1957, is a valid genus". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  25. ↑ "The Cichlid Room Companion • View topic - Remarks on Benthochromis species". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  26. ↑ "The Cichlid Room Companion • View topic - Question on nomenclature". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  27. ↑ "The Cichlid Room Companion • View topic - New genus 'Nosferatu'". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  28. ↑ Mejia, Omar & F. Pérez-Miranda, Y. León-Romero, E. Soto-Galera & E. de Luna. 2015. "Morphometric variation of the Herichthys bartoni (Bean, 1892) species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae): How many species comprise H. labridens (Pellegrin, 1903)?". Neotropical Ichthyology. v. 13(n. 1), pp. 61-76
  29. 1 2 Říčan, Oldřich; L. Piálek; K. Dragová; J. Novák (2016). "Diversity and evolution of the Middle American cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with revised classification". Vertebrate Zoology . 66 (1): 1–102. doi: 10.3897/vz.66.e31534 .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.