Pike cichlids

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Pike cichlids
Xingu common perch, Crenicichla Xingu 1

Xingu common perch , Crenicichla Xingu 1

Systematics
Ovalentaria
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Cichlinae
Tribe : Geophagini
Genre : Pike cichlids
Scientific name
Crenicichla
Heckel , 1840

The pike or comb cichlid ( Crenicichla , synonym : Batrachops ) are a genus of cichlids from tropical and subtropical South America . The scientific generic name refers to the sawn gill cover ( Greek : "krene" = comb + cichla , a genus of cichlids).

features

Pike cichlids grow to a length of 8 to over 30 centimeters (a species or variant of C. lugubris that is widespread in the Venezuelan Orinoco catchment up to 50 cm). Their body is elongated like a pike, the number of vertebrae is high (at least 32). There are more trunk than tail vertebrae, while most other cichlids do the opposite. The dorsal fin is relatively long, with 16 to 24 fin spines and 11 to 19 soft rays. The anal fin is short and is symmetrically opposite the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin. Both fins are pointed in the males. The lower jaw usually protrudes.

Way of life

Pike cichlids are predatory fish, which with their deeply split mouth can also overwhelm prey fish that are not much smaller than they are themselves. Fish are captured in a lightning-fast advance and devoured head first. Pike cichlids are cave breeders that attach their spawn to the side walls or ceiling of a cave. The female takes care of the spawn, while the male defends the territory . Once the young fish have hatched, both parents lead the school of young fish.

distribution

Pike cichlids live all over South America east of the Andes ; its southern limit of distribution is the Río Negro in northern Patagonia . They are also found on the Caribbean island of Trinidad , in the three guayanas , in the Amazon basin , in the Orinoco , Paraguay & Río Paraná and in most of the coastal rivers between the Amazon estuary and the Río de la Plata .

Internal system

There are more than 90 described species and about 20 undescribed. The genus Teleocichla , a group of cichlids that is strongly adapted to biotopes with high currents , is phylogenetically within Crenicichla . Crenicichla is divided into a number of species groups according to scale size, color, color change during the transition from the juvenile stage to the adult stage and other characteristics, which in the future may become independent genera. The genus is in great need of revision .

The cladogram shows the internal systematics of Crenicichla and the position of Teleocichla within Crenicichla :

  Crenicichla  


 Crenicichla lacustris group


   

 Crenicichla reticulata group



   

 Teleocichla


   


 Crenicichla saxatilis group


   

 Crenicichla lugubris group



   

 Crenicichla wallacii group





Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

species

literature

  • Claus Schaefer: Crenicichla. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , pp. 281-285.
  • Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
  • Günther Sterba (Ed.), Gert Brückner: Encyclopedia of Aquaristics and Special Ichthyology. Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen u. a. 1978, ISBN 3-7888-0252-9 .
  • Jens Gottwald: Pike cichlids of the genus Crenicichla. PDF .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Claus Schaefer: Crenicichla. 2004, p. 285.
  2. ↑ ED Burress, F. Alda, A. Duarte, M. Loureiro, JW Armbruster, P. Chakrabarty: Phylogenomics of pike cichlids (Cichlidae: Crenicichla ): the rapid ecological speciation of an incipient species flock. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 31 (1) October 2017, DOI: 10.1111 / jeb.13196

Web links

Commons : Crenicichla  - collection of images, videos and audio files