Mesonauta
| Mesonauta | ||||||||||||
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Flag cichlid ( Mesonauta guyanae ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mesonauta | ||||||||||||
| Günther , 1862 |
Mesonauta ( Gr .: "mesos" = middle + Latin : "nauta" = sailor) is a genus of cichlids (Cichlidae)consisting of six described and at least one undescribed species. The fish live widespread in South America east of the Andes. The distribution area extends from the Orinoco over the Amazon basin to the central Río Paraguay .
features
Mesonauta species are 19 to 27 cm long, females remain slightly smaller. Your body is strongly flattened on the sides, high back and not very stretched. The back line is rather straight, the belly line is arched. The mouth is terminal and pointed. The dorsal and anal fin have numerous hard rays, the soft part is drawn out. The first ray of the pelvic fins is elongated as in the angelfish . The most striking feature of the drawing is a dark band that runs from the corner of the mouth over the eyes to the rear hard rays of the dorsal fin and partly continues in the dorsal fin. A transverse ligament is more or less visible depending on the type and / or mood. There is a black band on the base of the tail.
Way of life
Mesonauta species live in small groups. They feed mainly on plants, but also eat animal food. They are open brooders and usually lay their eggs on a plant leaf. The fry hatch after two to three days, are then hung on plants near the surface of the water, and swim free after another four to five days. Both parents guard and lead the boys.
External system
Mesonauta belongs within the New World cichlids ( Cichlinae ) to the tribe Heroini and there together with the discus fish ( Symphysodon ), Heros and Uaru to a clade of high-backed cichlids.
species
- Mesonauta acora Castelnau , 1855
- Mesonauta egregius Kullander & Silfvergrip, 1991
- Flag cichlid ( Mesonauta festivus ) Heckel , 1840
- Mesonauta guyanae Schindler, 1998
- Mesonauta insignis Heckel , 1840
- Mesonauta mirificus Kullander & Silfvergrip, 1991
- Mesonauta sp. "Xingu"
literature
- Claus Schaefer: Mesonauta Günther, 1862. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 641.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hernán López-Fernández, Kirk O. Winemiller, Rodney L. Honeycutt: Multilocus phylogeny and rapid radiations in Neotropical cichlid fishes (Perciformes: Cichlidae: Cichlinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 55, Issue 3, June 2010, Pages 1070-1086 doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2010.02.020
Web links
- Mesonauta on Fishbase.org (English)