Vieja (genus)

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Vieja
The black belt cichlid (Vieja maculicauda), the type species of the genus

The black belt cichlid ( Vieja maculicauda ), the type species of the genus

Systematics
Ovalentaria
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Cichlinae
Tribe : Heroini
Genre : Vieja
Scientific name
Vieja
Fernández-Yépez , 1969

Vieja is a genus of the cichlids (Cichlidae)found in Central America. The distribution area extends on the Pacific side from the Río Tequistlán in Mexico to the Lago de Coatepeque in El Salvador , on the Caribbean side from the Mexican Río Chachalacas to the Río Chagres in Panama .

features

Vieja species are relatively elongated, moderately high back and are 20 to 35 cm long. A large round spot occupies most of the caudal peduncle. In most species (with the exception of V. maculicauda ), the spot is elongated towards the front to form a thick black band that extends over half (in V. melanura ) of the body or the entire body (in all other species of the genus). On the tail stalk, the lower sideline goes through the middle of the spot. The stain is considered a diagnostic feature of the genus. He distinguishes Vieja from all other herichthyinen cichlids with the exception of Oscura heterospila and Kihnichthys ufermanni . Oscura heterospila differs from the Vieja species by its dark color and five black stripes on the sides of the body. Vieja species have conical or two-pointed teeth, while Kihnichthys ufermanni have spade-shaped teeth .

Way of life

Vieja species are mostly found in larger rivers and lakes. Their diet is partly vegetarian. Some species also go into brackish water. Vieja species are open brooders that deposit their clutch, which can contain up to 2000 eggs, on a stone or a root. The fish form a parent family , with the male having a larger share in defending the territory, while the giving way takes care of the eggs and young fish.

species

The genus Vieja currently consists of eight species.

Vieja melanura

Systematics

The genus Vieja was introduced in 1969 by the Mexican ichthyologist Fernández-Yépez. Paraneetroplus bulleri , a large but slimmer species of cichlid from southern Mexico, was phylogenetically within the genus Vieja in the composition at that time. Since Paraneetroplus and Vieja thus form a common clade and, according to the priority rule of biological nomenclature, the older name takes precedence over the younger (later published), Vieja became a synonym for Paraneetroplus in 2010 . Since the morphological differences between Paraneetroplus and Vieja are relatively large, Vieja was revalidated in a different composition in mid-2015 with only eight species. To paraneetroplus now include three types, two other previously Vieja associated species of the genus were newly introduced Maskaheros assigned. Paraneetroplus is the sister genus of Maskaheros , Vieja the sister genus of the clade formed by Maskaheros and Paraneetroplus .

literature

  • 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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staek: American Cichlids II, Large cichlids. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-8974-5101-8 .
  2. ↑ Vieja on Fishbase.org (English)
  3. ↑ Caleb D. McMahan, Aaron D. Ge Geber, Kyle R. Piller: Molecular systematics of the enigmatic Middle American genus Vieja (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57 (2010) 1293-1300