Oscura heterospila
| Oscura heterospila | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Oscura | ||||||||||||
| McMahan & Chakrabarty , 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Oscura heterospila | ||||||||||||
| ( Hubbs , 1936) |
Oscura heterospila ( Syn . : Cichlasoma heterospilum , Theraps heterospilus , Vieja heterospila ) is a species of cichlid that occurs on the Caribbean side of Central America in the middle and lower reaches of rivers in the Usumacinta basin in the Guatemalan province of Peten and in southeastern Mexico. The type locality is near Montecristo in the Mexican state of Tabasco .
features
Oscura heterospila becomes 20 to 24 cm long and is relatively high back. The species is colored similar to Vieja maculicauda and has an olive-gray to greenish-gold basic color. Small black spots on the scales on the sides of the body form a few (usually five) frayed, irregular dark transverse bands that reach down to the belly. The specific epithet heterospilum (“hetero” = different; “spilos, spilus” = flecked, spot) also refers to these spots . A large round or elongated black spot occupies most of the caudal peduncle. The spots on the sides of the body and on the tail stalk are a diagnostic feature of the species and genus. Brood-nurturing fish turn light and the color fades. This intensifies the dark drawing. Males have reddish throats and bluish unpaired fins. Females are darker and have a blurred spot in the dorsal fin, which is not always visible. The caudal fin is yellowish or bluish.
Systematics
The cichlid species was described as Cichlasoma heterospilum by the American ichthyologist Carl Leavitt Hubbs in 1936 , later assigned to the genera Theraps and Vieja and has been the only species in the genus Oscura since mid-2015 . “Oscura” means “dark” in Spanish and refers to the characteristic dark color of the sides of the body. Outwardly, Oscura heterospila resembles the cichlids of the genus Vieja , but all phylogenetic studies show that the species is not particularly closely related to the other Vieja species. Oscura is the sister genus of Rheoheros , a two species of stream-loving, slim-built cichlids.
literature
- Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staek: American cichlids II, large cichlids. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-89745-101-8 , page 389.
- Caleb D. McMahan, Wilfredo A. Matamoros, Kyle R. Piller & Prosanta Chakrabarty: Taxonomy and systematics of the herichthyins (Cichlidae: Tribe Heroini), with the description of eight new Middle American Genera. Zootaxa 3999 (2): 211-234. doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa.3999.2.3
Web links
- Oscura heterospila on Fishbase.org (English)