Amphilophus

Amphilophus is a genus of cichlid fishes from Central America, ranging from southern Mexico to Panama. The genus currently contains 23 species, including several that are well-known from the aquarium trade. However, studies led by Oldrich Říčan in 2008 and 2016 suggested that several species within Amphilophus should be moved to the genus Astatheros.[1][2] Species proposed to be moved to Astatheros in 2008 were A. alfari, A. altifrons, A. bussingi, A. diquis, A. longimanus, A. macracanthus (which would be the type species for Astatheros), A. margaritifer, A. rhytisma, A. robertsoni and A. rostratus.[1] Further genetic studies led Říčan to put A. macracanthus in Astatheros, but to put A. alfari, A. altifrons, A. bussingi, A. diquis, A. longimanus, A. rhytisma, A. robertsoni and A. rostratus within the genus Cribroheros.[2] Říčan's study suggests that the Astatheros species are more closely related to the Jack Dempsey and rainbow cichlid than to the remaining Amphilophus species.[1]

Amphilophus
Midas cichlid (A. citrinellus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Tribe: Heroini
Genus: Amphilophus
Agassiz, 1859
Type species
Amphilophus froebelii
Agassiz, 1859
Synonyms
  • Curraichthys Fernández-Yépez, 1969
  • Erythrichthus Meek, 1907

Several species from this genus are endemic to the small Lake Apoyo (6 species) and Lake Xiloá (4 species) in Nicaragua, and are believed to be the result of sympatric speciation.[3]

Species

According to FishBase, there are currently 16 recognized species in this genus, listed below.[4][5] According to Catalog of Fishes, "Cichlasoma" istlanum and "Cichlasoma" trimaculatum also belong in Amphilophus (both these placed in Cichlasoma by FishBase), Amphilophus erythraeus is a valid species (considered a synonym of A. labiatus by FishBase), and Amphilophus margaritifer is an invalid species.[6]

References
  1. Heijns, W. (July 2009). "Central American heroine cichlids, a phylogenetic approach". Cichlid News. pp. 14–22.
  2. Říčan, O.; Piálek, L.; Dragová, K. & Novák, J. (2016). "Diversity and evolution of the Middle American cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with revised classification" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 66 (1): 1–102. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  3. Dittmann, Roesti, Indermaur, Colombo, Gschwind, Keller, Kovac, Barluenga, Muschick, and Salzburger (2012). Depth-dependent abundance of Midas Cichlid fish (Amphilophus spp.) in two Nicaraguan crater lakes. Hydrobiologia 686(1): 277-285.
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Species of Amphilophus in FishBase. July 2019 version.
  5. Recknagel, H., Kusche, H., Elmer, K.R. & Meyer, A. (2013): Two new endemic species in the Midas cichlid species complex from Nicaraguan crater lakes: Amphilophus tolteca and Amphilophus viridis (Perciformes, Cichlidae). aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, 19 (4): 207-224.
  6. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Amphilophus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. Stauffer; McCrary & Black (2008). "Three new species of cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 121 (1): 117–129. doi:10.2988/06-37.1.
  8. Geiger; McCrary & Stauffer (2010). "Description of two new species of the Midas cichlid complex (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 123 (2): 159–173. doi:10.2988/09-20.1.
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