Thorichthys
| Thorichthys | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fire mouth cichlid ( Thorichthys meeki ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Thorichthys | ||||||||||||
| Meek , 1908 |
Thorichthys is a genus of cichlid found in rivers and lakes on the Caribbean side of Central America. The distribution area of the genus lies between the Rio Antigua in the Mexican state of Veracruz and the Río Motagua , whichflowsinto the Caribbean on the border between Guatemala and Honduras.
features
Thorichthys species are 12 to 16 centimeters long. The body of the Thorichthys species is oval and laterally flattened, the head pointed with an elongated snout. The steep head profile is reminiscent of the South American genus Geophagus . Characteristic for the genus is the absence of scales on the bases of the soft-rayed sections of the dorsal and anal fin. The caudal fin is straight or is slightly indented. Transverse or longitudinal stripes on the sides of the body are differently pronounced. There is usually a clearly defined dark spot on the third horizontal stripe. The gill membranes are red. There is a black spot on the lower corner of the gill cover. The head and sides of the body are patterned with blue dots. Thorichthys species are open brooders that deposit their clutch on a stone or a root.
species
The genus currently consists of nine very similar species:
- Yellow-breasted cichlid ( Thorichthys affinis (Günther, 1862) )
- Golden cichlid ( Thorichthys aureus (Günther, 1862) )
- Thorichthys callolepis (Regan, 1904)
- Elliot's cichlid ( Thorichthys ellioti Meek, 1904 )
- Yellow-throated fire-mouth cichlid ( Thorichthys helleri (Steindachner, 1864) )
- Fire mouth cichlid ( Thorichthys meeki Brind, 1918 )
- Thorichthys panchovillai Del Moral-Flores, López-Segovia, Hérnandez-Arellano., 2017
- Thorichthys pasionis (Rivas, 1962)
- Thorichthys socolofi (Miller & Taylor, 1984)
In Mexico there are still some species that have not yet been described.
literature
- Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staek: American cichlids II, large cichlids. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-8974-5101-8 .
Web links
- Thorichthys on Fishbase.org (English)