COMMENTS
v. 9.0 – 5 Aug. 2023 view/download PDF
Family CICHLIDAE Cichlids (part 7 of 7)
Subfamily CICHLINAE American Cichlids (Darienheros through Wallaciia)
Darienheros Říčan & Novák 2016 named for the Darién area between Panamá (where it occurs) and Colombia; Heros, old neotropical cichlid name meaning “hero,” used here to mean “hero of the Darién”
Darienheros calobrensis (Meek & Hildebrand 1913) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Calobre, Panama, type locality
Dicrossus Steindachner 1875 di-, two; crossus, fringe or tassel; name coined by Agassiz, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to long, filiform ventral fins of D. maculatus males
Dicrossus filamentosus (Ladiges 1958) filamentous or thread-like, referring to long, caudal-fin streamers on males
Dicrossus foirni Römer, Hahn & Vergara 2010 in honor of FOIRN, Federação das Organizações Indígenas do Rio Negro, a non-governmental organization that has repeatedly given permission to travel on the tribal land of the village communities of different indigenous groups in the middle and upper Rio Negro and its affluent rivers, permitting the observation and collection of this species and D. warzeli; the name is also intended to highlight the fact that the basic human rights of indigenous peoples, who depend on large functional ecosystems for all necessary resources, are still in question in most parts of Amazonia when business projects (such as logging, mining, or the building of hydroelectric dams) are planned in the wilderness of the neotropical rainforests
Dicrossus gladicauda Schindler & Staeck 2008 gladius, sword; cauda, tail, referring to sword-like streamer of dorsal lobe of caudal fin in adult males
Dicrossus maculatus Steindachner 1875 spotted, referring to checkerboard pattern on sides
Dicrossus warzeli Römer, Hahn & Vergara 2010 in honor of “skilled” German aquarist Frank Martin Warzel (1960-2004), who “dedicated most of his life” to research on neotropical cichlids; he collected type in 1992, was the first to import this species to Germany and observe its reproductive behavior both in the field and in the aquarium
Geophagus Heckel 1840 geo, earth; phagein, eat, i.e., eartheater, latinization of Pappaterra, local name for these cichlids in Mato Grosso, Brazil, “probably derived from the diet of the fish, which seeks out water plants growing in the mud” (translation, italics in original) [actually, “eartheaters” uproot plants while feeding from the substrate]
Geophagus abalios López-Fernández & Taphorn 2004 a-, not or without; balios, spotted, referring to lack of preopercular markings
Geophagus altifrons Heckel 1840 altus, high; frons, forehead, referring to its high, straight forehead
Geophagus argyrostictus Kullander 1991 argyros, silvery; stiktos, spotted, referring to silvery dots on anterior sides
Geophagus brachybranchus Kullander & Nijssen 1989 brachys, short; branchia, gills, referring to gill filaments on first gill arch largely covered by skin, creating the appearance that they (i.e., their exposed portions) are short
Geophagus brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio de Janeiro Bay, Brazil, type locality (also occurs in Argentina and Uruguay)
Geophagus brokopondo Kullander & Nijssen 1989 named for Brokopondomeer (an artificial lake or reservoir) in the Suriname River system, and for Brokopondo District, Suriname, type locality (also occurs in Guyana)
Geophagus camopiensis Pellegrin 1903 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Camopi River, Oyapock basin, French Guiana, type locality (also occurs in Brazil)
Geophagus crassilabris Steindachner 1876 crassus, wide; labrum, lip, referring to noticeably more swollen lips of adults
Geophagus crocatus Hauser & López-Fernández 2013 saffron yellow, referring to yellow operculum of living specimens
Geophagus diamantinensis Mattos, Costa & Santos 2015 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Chapada Diamantina (Bahia, northeastern Brazil), a high plateau with a predominance of Caatinga vegetation, where this cichlid is endemic
Geophagus dicrozoster López-Fernández & Taphorn 2004 dikros, forked; zoster, belt, referring to “Y” formed by lateral bars 4 and 5
Geophagus gottwaldi Schindler & Staeck 2006 in honor of aquarium-fish importer Jens Gottwald (b. 1967), Garbsen, Germany, who collected type and recognized it as a new species, for his “commitment to increase the knowledge about cichlid fishes”
Geophagus grammepareius Kullander & Taphorn 1992 gramme, line; pareia, cheek, referring to dark stripe across cheek
Geophagus harreri Gosse 1976 in honor of Heinrich Harrer (1912-2006), Austrian writer, sportsman, explorer and mountaineer (best known for being on four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland and author of the 1952 book Seven Years in Tibet), for his help during fish-collecting surveys in Suriname and French Guiana
Geophagus iporangensis Haseman 1911 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Iporanga (a village), Brazil, type locality
Geophagus itapicuruensis Haseman 1911 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Itapicurú at Queimadas, Bahia, Brazil, type locality
Geophagus megasema Heckel 1840 mega, large; sema, mark, allusion not explained, probably referring to large lateral spot cited as a character of the species
Geophagus mirabilis Deprá, Kullander, Pavanelli & da Graça 2014 extraordinary, marvelous or admirable, referring to unique color pattern that includes row of black spots on flanks and iridescent spots and vermiculations on side of head in living individuals
Geophagus multiocellus Mattos & Costa 2018 multi-, several; ocellatus, having little eyes, referring to small, pale-blue spots with minute bright-blue dots in their centers on caudal fin
Geophagus neambi Lucinda, Lucena & Assis 2010 in honor of Núcleo de Estudos Ambientais (Neamb), Universidade Federal do Tocantins (Brazil), for its effort in studying the rio Tocantins ichthyofauna
Geophagus obscurus (Castelnau 1855) dark, referring to what Castelnau presumed was its chocolate-brown color in life
Geophagus parnaibae Staeck & Schindler 2006 of the río Parnaíba basin, northeastern Brazil, where it appears to be endemic
Geophagus pellegrini Regan 1912 in honor of French ichthyologist Jacques Pellegrin (1873-1944), who “kindly” sent one of the types of G. camopiensis for comparison
Geophagus proximus (Castelnau 1855) near, allusion not explained, perhaps reflecting Castelnau’s comment that this species looks very much like (“Ressemble beaucoup”) Chromys unimaculata (=G. brasiliensis)
Geophagus pyrineusi Deprá, Ohara & Silva 2022 in honor of Lieut. Antônio Pyrineus de Sousa (d. 1936), who collected holotype in 1915 while serving as a naturalist with the Rondon Commission to install telegraph poles from Mato Grosso to Amazonas (Brazil); the current authors fulfilled the wish of Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro, who intended to name this cichlid after Pyrineus de Sousa (as he had named the loricariid catfish Hypostomus pyrineusi in 1920)
Geophagus pyrocephalus Chuctaya, Nitschke, Andrade, Wingert & Malabarba 2022 pyra-, fire; cephalus, head, referring to its red head and its common name in the aquarium trade, “Tapajos red head”
Geophagus rufomarginatus Mattos & Costa 2018 rufo-, red; marginatus, edged or bordered, referring to red dorsal-fin lappets in living specimens
Geophagus santosi Mattos & Costa 2018 in honor of Alexandre Clistenes Alcântara Santos, ichthyologist and friend, who is dedicated to the study of aquatic ecosystems of northeast Brazil
Geophagus steindachneri Eigenmann & Hildebrand 1922 in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919), who reported this cichlid as G. brasiliensis in 1880
Geophagus surinamensis (Bloch 1791) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Suriname, type locality (also occurs in French Guiana, Brazil and Colombia, and established in Florida [USA] and Singapore)
Geophagus sveni Lucinda, Lucena & Assis 2010 in honor of ichthyologist Sven O. Kullander (b. 1952), Swedish Museum of Natural History, for many contributions to cichlid systematics
Geophagus taeniopareius Kullander & Royero 1992 taenia, stripe; pareia, cheek, referring to dark stripe across the cheek and its popular name among German aquarists, Wangenstrich-Erdfresser
Geophagus winemilleri López-Fernández & Taphorn 2004 in honor of aquatic ecologist Kirk O. Winemiller, Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas, USA), who led field expedition to Río Casiquiare region of Venezuela (during which most of type series was collected), for nearly two decades of contributions to ecology and tropical fish biology, many of which have been based on Venezuelan fishes
Guianacara Kullander & Nijssen 1989 Guiana, referring to the Guianas, principal area of distribution; acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids
Subgenus Guianacara
Guianacara cuyunii López-Fernández, Taphorn Baechle & Kullander 2006 of the Cuyuní River, Bolívar, Venezuela, type locality
Guianacara dacrya Arbour & López-Fernández 2011 dakryo, to shed tears or weep, referring to tear-streaked appearance of infraorbital stripe
Guianacara geayi (Pellegrin 1902) in honor of pharmacist and natural history collector Martin François Geay (1859-1910), who collected type
Guianacara owroewefi Kullander & Nijssen 1989 owroe wefi, meaning “old wife,” one of the local names applied to this species (and other cichlids) in Suriname, allusion not explained (but see Vieja, below)
Guianacara sphenozona Kullander & Nijssen 1989 sphen, wedge; zona, band or girdle, referring to wedge-shaped vertical stripe on sides
Guianacara stergiosi López-Fernández, Taphorn Baechle & Kullander 2006 in honor of botanist Basil Stergios, whose numerous expeditions into remote regions of southern Venezuela have encountered a variety of undescribed fishes, including most of the upper Caura drainage specimens of this cichlid
Subgenus Oelemaria Kullander & Nijssen 1989 –ia, belonging to: Oelemari River, Marowijne District, Suriname, where the one included species appears to be endemic
Guianacara oelemariensis Kullander & Nijssen 1989 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Oelemari River, Marowijne District, Suriname, where it appears to be endemic
Gymnogeophagus Miranda Ribeiro 1918 gymnos, bare or naked, i.e., Geophagus-like cichlids with a scaleless cheek and predorsal midline
Gymnogeophagus australis (Eigenmann 1907) southern, referring to southern distribution (Argentina, Uruguay) compared to presumed congeners in Geophagus
Gymnogeophagus balzanii (Perugia 1891) in honor of Italian naturalist Luigi Balzan (1865-1893), who collected type during a grand solo tour of South America in 1890
Gymnogeophagus caaguazuensis Staeck 2006 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Caaguazú Province, Paraguay, type locality
Gymnogeophagus che Casciotta, Gómez & Toresanni 2000 Mbya-Guaraní word meaning “mine” or “my,” a colloquial term in Argentina that distinguishes Argentinians from other Spanish-speaking countries, referring to the country where this cichlid is endemic
Gymnogeophagus constellatus Malabarba, Malabarba & Reis 2015 studded with stars, referring to arrangement of white bright spots in dorsolateral region of body
Gymnogeophagus gymnogenys (Hensel 1870) gymnos, bare or naked; genys, cheek, referring to scaleless cheek and preopercle
Gymnogeophagus jaryi Alonso, Terán, Aguilera, Říčan, Casciotta, Serra, Almirón, Benítez, García & Mirande 2019 jarýi, Guaraní word for grandmother, dedicated to Abuelas [Grandmothers] de Plaza de Mayo, a non-governmental organization created in 1977 “whose objective is to locate and restore to their legitimate families all the children disappeared by the last Argentine dictatorship”
Gymnogeophagus labiatus (Hensel 1870) lipped, referring to its characteristically large (thickened and swollen) lips
Gymnogeophagus lacustris Reis & Malabarba 1988 lacustrine (belonging to a lake), referring to occurrence in coastal lagoons of southern Brazil
Gymnogeophagus lipokarenos Malabarba, Malabarba & Reis 2015 lipos, fat; kara, head, referring to extremely large adipose hump of adult males
Gymnogeophagus mekinos Malabarba, Malabarba & Reis 2015 Greek for prolonged, referring to its comparatively elongated body
Gymnogeophagus meridionalis Reis & Malabarba 1988 southern, only member of genus found south of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gymnogeophagus missioneiro Malabarba, Malabarba & Reis 2015 Portuguese noun meaning “from the Missões region,” named for the Jesuit Missions of the 18th century in southern Brazil and Argentina, referring to this cichlid’s distribution in western Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Gymnogeophagus peliochelynion Turcati & Serra-Alanis 2018 pelios, black and blue; chelyne, lip, referring to color of its hypertrophied lips
Gymnogeophagus pseudolabiatus Malabarba, Malabarba & Reis 2015 pseudo-, false, although this cichlid may resemble G. labiatus (which also has thick, swollen lips), such an appearance is false
Gymnogeophagus rhabdotus (Hensel 1870) striped, presumably referring to bright silvery longitudinal stripes on body alternating with narrow, darker stripes
Gymnogeophagus setequedas Reis, Malabarba & Pavanelli 1992 named for Sete Quedas, a major waterfall of the rio Paraná (Paraguay, in whose drainage this cichlid occurs), which disappeared with the construction of the Itaipu hydroelectric dam in 1983 (also occurs in Argentina and Brazil)
Gymnogeophagus taroba Casciotta, Almirón, Piálek & Říčan 2017 named for Tarobá, a warrior, referring to a legend of the Kaingang people, who were the first inhabitants of the present-day province of Misiones in Argentina, particularly the río Iguazú basin, above the falls, where this cichlid is endemic; according to the legend, Tarobá and Naipí, a beautiful young maiden, angered Mboi, the guardian god of the río Iguazú, who created the falls to capture the lovers, transforming Naipí into one of the rocks of the falls, perpetually punished by its turbulent waters, and Tarobá into a palm tree on the bank, where, on sunny days, a rainbow overcomes the power of Mboi and serves as a bridge of love connecting Naipí and Tarobá
Gymnogeophagus terrapurpura Loureiro, Zarucki, Malabarba & González-Bergonzoni 2016 named for the 1885 novel The Purple Land (La Tierra Purpúrea in Spanish) by William Henry Hudson (1841-1922), in which the main character travels through the same region of Uruguay where this cichlid occurs
Gymnogeophagus tiraparae González-Bergonzoni, Loureiro & Oviedo 2009 in honor of María Luisa Tirapare, an 18th-century Guaraní woman who founded the former town of San Borja del Yí, the last native town in Uruguayan land, where natives, fugitive African slaves, gaúchos (cowboys), and other outsiders lived together
Hemeraia Varella, Kullander, Menezes, Oliveira & López-Fernández 2023 named for its type species, H. hemera
Hemeraia chicha (Varella, Kullander & Lima 2012) referring to the chichi festivities of the Paresi (or Halíti), one of the indigenous groups originally living in the Mato Grosso plateau in the region of the upper rio Juruena basin (where this cichlid occurs); during chichi, they meet to drink olóniti, a beverage made with roasted tapioca (cassava starch) of mandioca brava (bitter cassava), dance, and sing their myths, mainly celebrated nowadays when they conclude rites of individual passage (e.g., nomination of children and pubertal girls), or within a timetable ritual (e.g., first harvest time of a culture of cassava)
Hemeraia hemera (Kullander 1990) tame, referring to docile behavior when type series was collected (most individuals observed could be approached very closely, very reluctantly fleeing and not far)
Herichthys Baird & Girard 1854 Heros, referring to its “strong affinities” with that genus; ichthys, fish
Herichthys bartoni (Bean 1892) patronym not identified; according to Jordan & Evermann (1898), in honor of Barton A. Bean (1860-1947), assistant curator of ichthyology at the U.S. National Museum and the author’s brother
Herichthys carpintis (Jordan & Snyder 1899) –is, genitive singular of: Laguna del Carpinte, near Tampico, Tamaulipas, México, type locality
Herichthys cyanoguttatus Baird & Girard 1854 cyano-, blue; guttatus, spotted, referring to small bluish spots scattered all over body and fins
Herichthys deppii (Heckel 1840) in honor Ferdinand Deppe (1794-1861), German naturalist, explorer and painter, who collected type
Herichthys labridens (Pellegrin 1903) labrum, lip; dens, teeth, probably referring to two enlarged teeth in external row on upper lip, particularly noticeable in adults
Herichthys minckleyi (Kornfield & Taylor 1983) in honor of ichthyologist Wendell L. Minckley (1935-2001), Arizona State University, who studied the biota of Cuatro Ciénegas (Coahuila, México, where this cichlid is endemic) for many years
Herichthys pame De la Maza-Benignos & Lozano-Vilano 2013 named for the Pame people of México, whose territory includes five municipalities in the state of San Luis Potosí, including Tamasopo, where this cichlid is endemic
Herichthys pantostictus (Taylor & Miller 1983) pantos, all; stiktos, spotted, referring to small, dark brown spots over most of its body
Herichthys steindachneri (Jordan & Snyder 1899) patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner (1834-1919)
Herichthys tamasopoensis Artigas Azas 1993 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Tamasopo, municipality in San Luis Potosí, México, type locality, derived from the Huasteca word Tam-Azote, meaning “place of waterfalls”
Herichthys tepehua De la Maza-Benignos, Ornelas-García, Lozano-Vilano, García-Ramírez & Doadrio 2015 Nahuatl word meaning “the ones who possess the mountains,” referring to the remaining (as of 1990 México census) 10,573 members of the indigenous Tepehua ethnic group and their language, spoken in eastern México, including states of Veracruz and Puebla, where this cichlid occurs
Heroina Kullander 1996 –ina, having the nature of: referring to a “certain outward likeness” to the genus Heros
Heroina isonycterina Kullander 1996 –ina, having the nature of: isos, equal; nycterus, nightly, i.e., of equal nights, referring to its equatorial distribution
Heros Heckel 1840 allusion not explained, possibly meaning “hero,” which, in the classical use of the term, means “protector,” “defender” or “guardian,” perhaps referring to parental care of young (which Heckel probably did not know about); another possible explanation comes from the works of Homer, in which “hero” is reserved for the chief warriors and captains, perhaps referring to their large number of spiny anal-fin rays, a feature Heckel used to distinguish Heros from its closest relatives, thereby making Heros more “warrior-like”
Heros efasciatus Heckel 1840 e-, without; fasciatus, banded, referring to absence of vertical bands, compared to the similar H. spurius, described in the same paper
Heros liberifer Staeck & Schindler 2015 liberi, children; fero, to carry, referring to biparental oral incubation of fry (mouthbrooding), a reproductive behavior apparently unique in the genus
Heros notatus (Jardine 1843) marked, presumably referring to a “dark rich umber-brown spot” at the base of each scale, and lower part of the head and opercula “marked with rather large irregularly rounded spots of the same colour”
Heros severus Heckel 1840 harsh, stern, sharp, rough or rigorous, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its more prominently curved head compared to congeners (Sven O. Kullander, pers. comm.)
Heros spurius Heckel 1840 false, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to similarity to H. severus, H. coryphaeus and H. modestus (latter two taxa now regarded as junior synonyms of H. spurius)
Herotilapia Pellegrin 1904 combination of Heros and Tilapia (then a catch-all African genus), referring to “curious” (translation) dentition reminiscent of the latter while all other characters align with the former
Herotilapia multispinosa (Günther 1867) multi-, many; spinosus, spiny, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to more anal-fin spines (11) compared to Amatitlania nigrofasciata (10), its presumed congener at the time (proposed in the same paper)
Hoplarchus Kaup 1860 hoplo-, armed; archus, anus, presumably referring to “unusually strong” (translation) anal-fin spines
Hoplarchus psittacus (Heckel 1840) parrot, named for its “beautiful bright colors” (translation, italics in original)
Hypselecara Kullander 1986 hypselos, high, referring to prominent rising forehead in adults; acará, Tupí-Guaraní name for cichlids; “last part of the name might also be taken to derive from the Greek cara, head”
Hypselecara coryphaenoides (Heckel 1840) –oides, having the form of: dolphinfishes (Coryphaena), referring to its “tall, blunt, Coryphaena-like head” (translation)
Hypselecara temporalis (Günther 1862) temporal, presumably referring to large brownish-black blotch between eye and upper part of gill opening, with a crescent-shaped yellowish spot above it
Hypsophrys Agassiz 1859 etymology not explained, perhaps hypso-, high, allusion not evident; ophrys, eyebrow, but in this case possibly referring to how Agassiz said it resembled Chrysophrys (Sparidae)
Hypsophrys nicaraguensis (Günther 1864) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Nicaragua and/or Nicaragua, type locality (also occurs in Costa Rica and established in Hawai‘i)
Isthmoheros Říčan & Novák 2016 isthmos, narrow passage or neck of land (i.e., Isthmus of Panama); Heros, old neotropical cichlid name meaning “hero,” used here to mean “isthmian hero,” as it is the only eastern Isthmian genus that has its sister-genus on the opposite side of the Isthmus in western Panama and Costa Rica
Isthmoheros tuyrensis (Meek & Hildebrand 1913) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Tuyra, Boca de Cupe, Panama, type locality
Ivanacara Römer & Hahn 2006 Ivan, referring to Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584), first crown Russian tsar, known for being “exceptionally ill-tempered and irascible,” alluding to the “aggressive and unpredictable” behavior of members of this genus as observed in the aquarium and in the field; acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids
Ivanacara adoketa (Kullander & Prada-Pedreros 1993) Greek for unexpected, referring to unexpected discovery of a Nannacara (original genus) species in the Rio Negro drainage
Ivanacara bimaculata (Eigenmann 1912) bi-, two; maculata, spotted, referring to lateral and caudal spots
Krobia Kullander & Nijssen 1989 Surinamese vernacular name applied to several cichlid species, including K. guianensis
Krobia guianensis (Regan 1905) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Guyana, type locality (also occurs in Suriname and possibly Brazil)
Krobia itanyi (Puyo 1943) of Itany, French name of Litani River, Marowijne (or Maroni) River drainage, part of boundary between Suriname and French Guiana, type locality
Krobia petitella Steele, Liverpool & López-Fernández 2013 diminutive of petitus, reaching out for or inclining towards, referring to lateral band spots lying adjacent to upper lateral line anteriorly and intercepting posteriorly
Krobia xinguensis Kullander 2012 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Xingú River drainage, Brazil, where it is endemic
Kronoheros Říčan & Piálek 2016 Kronos, leader of the first generation of Titans of Greek mythology, referring to K. umbrifer, the largest neotropical cichlid (47.5 cm SL); Heros, an old name for neotropical cichlids, meaning “hero” (see Heros, above)
Kronoheros umbrifer (Meek & Hildebrand 1913) shady, presumably referring to “dark olivaceous” coloration
Laetacara Kullander 1986 laetus, happy; acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids, inspired by the name “smiling acara” suggested by aquarist James K. Langhammer (1971) for L. flavilabris (then identified as Aequidens thayeri), referring to facial expression produced by its snout markings, shared by other members of the genus
Laetacara araguaiae Ottoni & Costa 2009 –ensis, suffix denoting place: rio Araguaia basin, Goiás, Brazil, type locality
Laetacara curviceps (Ahl 1923) curvus, curve; ceps, head, referring to convex profile of upper head, “strongly bent over the forehead” (translation) of mature males
Laetacara dorsigera (Heckel 1840) dorsi-, back; –iger, to bear, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to dark spot on dorsal fin
Laetacara flamannellus Ottoni, Bragança, Amorim & Gama 2012 flammeus, flame-colored; annellus, ring, referring to “orange flame” ring around spot on dorsal fin
Laetacara flavilabris (Cope 1870) flavus, yellow; labrum, lip, referring to yellow lower lip
Laetacara fulvipinnis Staeck & Schindler 2007 fulvus, dark yellow; pinna, fin, referring to coloration of caudal and anal fins, a distinguishing feature of the species
Laetacara thayeri (Steindachner 1875) in honor of financier and philanthropist Nathaniel Thayer, Jr. (1808-1883), who sponsored a 15-month expedition to Brazil (1865-1866) that secured a rich collection of new species (studied, in large part, by Steindachner and Eigenmann), including type of this one
Lugubria Varella, Kullander, Menezes, Oliveira & López-Fernández 2023 named for its type species, L. lugubris
Lugubria acutirostris (Günther 1862) acutus, pointed; rostris, snout, referring to “comparatively much more produced” snout than the similar L. johanna
Lugubria adspersa (Heckel 1840) besprinkled, referring to “black spots all over the head and chest” (translation)
Lugubria cincta (Regan 1905) cinctum, belt or girdle, presumably referring to 9 or 10 dark vertical crossbars on upper half of body
Lugubria dandara (Varella & Ito 2018) named after Dandara (d. 1694), an Afro-Brazilian warrior of Brazil’s colonial period, who, according to legend, fiercely defended, with her husband Zumbi, the community of Palmares, a safe haven for escaped slaves in the coastal state of Alagoas; today she is a symbol of the struggle against racism and the exploitation of black women, and the death day of Zumbi (20 Nov. 1695) is celebrated as the Dia da Consciência Negra (Black Awareness Day) throughout Brazil [a noun in apposition without the matronymic “ae”]
Lugubria johanna (Heckel 1840) latinization of Joanna, from Joanna Guensa, local name for this cichlid in Mato Grosso, Brazil
Lugubria lenticulata (Heckel 1840) freckled, referring to “beautiful lenticular black spots” (translation) on breast
Lugubria lugubris (Heckel 1840) mournful or dark, presumably referring to uniform olive-brown color in spirits
Lugubria marmorata (Pellegrin 1904) marbled, a manuscript name coined by Cuvier & Valenciennes, presumably referring to its coloration, described as: “Light yellow with a very irregular brown band at the upper part of the body and a second band formed by a succession of irregular brown spots and dots at the level of the lower lateral line” (translation)
Lugubria monicae (Kullander & Varella 2015) in honor of ichthyologist Mônica Toledo-Piza Ragazzo, whose “initiative and effort” in publishing (2002) Alfred Russel Wallace’s drawings from his 1850-1852 expedition to the Rio Negro and Rio Uaupés region “were a great service to science, and also decisive for identifying [this] new species”
Lugubria multispinosa (Pellegrin 1903) multi-, many; spinosus, spiny, referring to more numerous dorsal-fin spines compared to the similar Saxatilia brasiliensis, its presumed congener at the time
Lugubria percna (Kullander 1991) dark-spotted, referring to four dark blotches along the sides
Lugubria phaiospilus (Kullander 1991) phaios, dark; spilos, spot, referring to 4-5 dark blotches along the sides
Lugubria rosemariae (Kullander 1997) in honor of Rosemary Lowe-McConnell (1921-2014), who collected type and was a “persistent inspiratrix to students of tropical fish ecology”
Lugubria strigata (Günther 1862) striped, referring to pair of brown streaks along middle of body to caudal-fin spot (upper streak continued on through the eye to snout), and a third streak along upper portion of lateral line
Lugubria ternetzi (Norman 1926) in honor of ichthyologist and naturalist Carl Ternetz (1870-1928), who made extensive collections in French Guiana for the British Museum (including, presumably, type of this species)
Lugubria tigrina (Ploeg, Jégu & Ferreira 1991) tiger-like, referring to tiger-like markings on sides and unpaired fins of adult males
Maskaheros McMahan & Piller 2015 máska, shortened form of mascara, Spanish for mask, referring to mask-like appearance of broad, dark interorbital bars that diagnose the genus; Heros, generic name formerly used for many neotropical cichlids
Maskaheros argenteus (Allgayer 1991) silvery, referring to its silvery white body color in life
Maskaheros regani (Miller 1974) in honor of ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan (1878-1943), Natural History Museum (London), for his “classic studies on American cichlids”
Mayaheros Říčan & Piálek 2016 named after the native Mesoamerican Maya people whose ancestral distribution includes most of the native area of the M. urophthalmus species group and which was very likely the ancestral area of the whole genus; Heros, old neotropical cichlid name meaning “hero,” used here to mean “hero of the Maya people”
Mayaheros aguadae (Hubbs 1936) of an aguada (shallow well or watering hole) at Tuxpeña, interior Campeche, Yucatán, Mexico, only known area of occurrence (known only from holotype)
Mayaheros amarus (Hubbs 1936) bitter, referring to its salt- or brackish-water habitat
Mayaheros beani (Jordan 1889) in honor of in honor of Tarleton H. Bean (1846-1916), U.S. National Museum, for his “researches in American ichthyology”
Mayaheros ericymba (Hubbs 1938) eri-, very; cymba, cavity, referring to deep and well-developed sensory cavities of lateral-line system on head, presumably an adaptation to life in San Bulha Cenote (also known as Sambulá cave) in Yucatán, México
Mayaheros trispilus (Hubbs 1935) tri-, three; spilus, spot, referring to two round black spots (or blotches) about as large as eye on caudal peduncle, slightly separated or barely connected with one another, and to a jet-black spot (“not conspicuously ocellated”) on caudal fin
Mayaheros troschelii (Steindachner 1867) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of German zoologist Franz Hermann Troschel (1810-1882), author of Horae ichthyologicae (three volumes, 1845-49) with Johannes Peter Müller
Mayaheros urophthalmus (Günther 1862) oura, tail; ophthalmos, eye, referring to large black ocellus at base of caudal fin
Mazarunia Kullander 1990 –ia, beloning to: Mazaruni River, Guyana, type locality of M. mazarunii
Mazarunia charadrica López-Fernández, Taphorn & Liverpool 2012 Greek for a mountain stream or a torrent, referring to its apparent preference for reophilous habitats (often found in the steep tributaries of the Mazaruni River of Guyana that flow from the slopes of the Roraima massif and other mountainous sources in the area)
Mazarunia mazarunii Kullander 1990 of the Mazaruni River, Guyana, type locality
Mazarunia pala López-Fernández, Taphorn & Liverpool 2012 Greek for gold nugget, referring to golden spots behind and under orbit, and to the fact that it has only been collected in the main channel of the upper Mazaruni River (Guyana), where a growing gold-mining industry may be contributing to degradation of its habitat
Mesoheros McMahan & Chakrabarty 2015 mesos, middle (i.e., Middle America), referring to how this South American genus is phylogenetically nested in a derived Middle American cichlid clade; Heros, a generic name formerly used for many neotropical cichlids
Mesoheros atromaculatus (Regan 1912) atro-, black; maculatus, spotted, referring to one series of blackish spots above lateral line and two below it
Mesoheros festae (Boulenger 1899) in honor of Italian naturalist Enrico Festa (1868-1939), who collected type
Mesoheros gephyrus (Eigenmann 1922) gephyra, a bridge, intermediate between M. atromaculatus and M. ornatus (in fact, Eigenmann wondered if it might be a hybrid between the two)
Mesoheros ornatus (Regan 1905) ornate or decorated, referring to blackish cross-bars on sides of body, light blue spots on sides of head, and each scale with a light blue spot, the spots of the lower part of the body larger and almost white
Mesonauta Günther 1862 mesos, middle; nautes, sailor, allusion not explained, possibly referring to origin of dorsal fin (the “sail” in “sailor”) posterior to origin of pelvic fin (i.e., closer to middle of body), which was Günther’s principal diagnostic character for the genus
Mesonauta acora (Castelnau 1855) Acora, local name for this cichlid along the rio Araguaia, Brazil (possibly an orthographic variant of acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids)
Mesonauta egregius Kullander & Silfvergrip 1991 eminent or distinguished, named “in line” with M. festivus and M. insignis
Mesonauta festivus (Heckel 1840) handsome, described as a “beautifully colored very excellent species” (translation, italics in original)
Mesonauta guyanae Schindler 1998 of Guyana, where type locality (Essequibo River) is situated (also occurs in Brazil)
Mesonauta insignis (Heckel 1840) distinguished, described as “excellent as it is rare” (translation, italics in original)
Mesonauta mirificus Kullander & Silfvergrip 1991 wonderful, named “in line” with M. festivus and M. insignis
Mikrogeophagus Meulengracht-Madsen 1968 micro-, small, i.e., referring to M. ramirezi as a dwarf species of Geophagus or at least closely related to that genus (a name coined by aquarists and informally used since at least 1957, unintentionally made available in a Danish aquarium book)
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus (Haseman 1911) altus, high; spinosus, thorny, referring to long fourth spine of dorsal fin
Mikrogeophagus maculicauda Staeck, Ottoni & Schindler 2022 macula, blotch or spot; cauda, tail, referring to prominent dark blotch on caudal peduncle
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (Myers & Harry 1948) in honor of Manuel Vicente Ramirez, who collected type with Herman Blass (Franjo Fisheries, Miami, Florida, USA) in Venezuela; since Blass bred and popularized the fish in the aquarium trade using the names “Ramirezi” and “Ramirezi Cichlid” (since shortened to “Ram Cichlid”), the authors maintained the name “merely in order to avoid confusion” [junior author later known as Rofen]
Nandopsis Gill 1862 –opsis, appearance, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to superficial resemblance of N. tetracanthus with the Asian Leaffish family Nandoidae (mentioned by Gill in his paper; now known as Nandidae, Anabantiformes), presumed to be related to cichlids at the time (a resemblance we fail to see)
Nandopsis haitiensis (Tee-Van 1935) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Haiti, type locality (also occurs in Dominican Republic)
Nandopsis ramsdeni (Fowler 1938) in honor of Cuban zoologist Charles T. Ramsden (1876-1951), who collected type
Nandopsis tetracanthus (Valenciennes 1831) tetra-, four; acanthus, spine, proposed in the North American sunfish genus Centrarchus, which has 7-8 anal-fin spines, whereas this species has but four
Nannacara Regan 1905 nanus, dwarf; Acara, a “Closely allied” genus, referring to small size of N. anomala, described at 55 and 57 mm, i.e., a dwarf Acara
Nannacara anomala Regan 1905 anomalous, described as a “curious species,” presumably referring to upper lateral line, which runs obliquely upwards to spinous portion of dorsal fin, and from which it is separated by only a half-series of scales for most of its length
Nannacara aureocephalus Allgayer 1983 aureus, golden; cephalus, head, referring to bright-yellow color on cheek, postocular area, preoperculum and operculum of living specimens
Nannacara quadrispinae Staeck & Schindler 2004 quadri-, four; spina, spine, referring to four (sometimes five) anal-fin spines compared to three in congeners
Nannacara taenia Regan 1912 band, referring to any or all of the following: dark oblique stripe from eye to interoperculum; broad dark longitudinal stripe from eye to base of caudal fin; narrower stripes at edges of series of scales on body; an oblique stripe from eye to interoperculum
Neetroplus Günther 1867 ne-, not, presumed to be closely allied to the Indian and Sri Lankan genus cichlid Etroplus, but with a developed (instead of rudimentary) lateral line
Neetroplus nematopus (Günther 1867) nematos, thread; pous, foot, referring to filamentous outer ray of ventral fin, as long as the fin itself
Oscura McMahan & Chakrabarty 2015 Spanish word for dark, referring to its overall dark coloration
Oscura heterospila (Hubbs 1936) hetero-, different; spilos, mark or spot, referring to “very irregular blackish purple markings” on body
Panamius Schmitter-Soto 2007 Panamanian, referring to country where it is endemic
Panamius panamensis (Meek & Hildebrand 1913) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Atlantic slope of Panama, where it appears to be endemic
Parachromis Agassiz 1859 etymology not explained, probably para-, near, referring to how this genus resembles and/or is related to Chromis, which Agassiz apparently believed constituted a genus of South and Central American cichlids
Parachromis dovii (Günther 1864) in honor of John Melmoth Dow (1827-1892), Panama Railroad Company, ship captain and amateur naturalist, who collected type [“w” latinized as a “v”]
Parachromis friedrichsthalii (Heckel 1840) in honor of Emanuel von Friedrichsthal (1809-1842), Austrian explorer, botanist and amateur archaeologist, who sent many natural history specimens from Central America to the Vienna Museum, including type of this cichlid
Parachromis managuensis (Günther 1867) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Managua, Nicaragua, type locality (also occurs in Costa Rica and Honduras, widely introduced elsewhere)
Parachromis motaguensis (Günther 1867) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Motagua, Guatemala, type locality (also occurs in El Salvador and Honduras)
Parachromis multifasciatus (Regan 1905) multi-, many; fasciatus, banded, referring to ~10 blackish crossbars on olivaceous body
Paraneetroplus Regan 1905 para-, near, referring to P. bulleri, described as intermediate between Neetroplus nematopus and P. nebulifer
Paraneetroplus bulleri Regan 1905 in honor of Audley Cecil Buller (1853-1894), who collected many specimens of Mexican vertebrates, including type of this one
Paraneetroplus gibbiceps (Steindachner 1864) gibbus, hump; ceps, head, referring to hunchbacked appearance (small hump on head) of some adult specimens
Paraneetroplus nebulifer (Günther 1860) nebula, cloud; fero, to bear, referring to middle of body “clouded with blackish, in the form of indistinct vertical bands”
Paraneetroplus omonti Allgayer 1988 in honor of French aquarist Jean-Marie Omont, a “traveler devoted to the cause of the cichlid family” (translation)
Petenia Günther 1862 –ia, belonging to: Lake Petén, Guatemala, type locality of P. splendida (also occurs in México and Belize)
Petenia splendida Günther 1862 bright or shining, presumably referring to “Greenish, shining, golden” coloration
Pterophyllum Heckel 1840 ptero-, winged, phyllon, leaf, presumably referring to tall, wide, triangular dorsal fin, i.e., a winged leaf
Pterophyllum altum Pellegrin 1903 high, referring to higher body compared to P. scalare
Pterophyllum leopoldi (Gosse 1963) in honor of King Leopold III (1901-1983) of Belgium, who sponsored 1962 Amazon expedition and helped collect type
Pterophyllum scalare (Schultze 1823) ladder, i.e., like a flight of stairs, referring to how dorsal-fin spines gradually climb higher (step by step) along the fin
Retroculus Eigenmann & Bray 1894 retro-, back or backwards; oculus, eye, referring to relatively posterior position of eye in head of R. boulengeri (=lapidifer) compared to other cichlids
Retroculus acherontos Landim, Moreira & Figueiredo 2015 of Acheron, river in Greek mythology that flows to Hades, land of the souls, referring to type locality, Rio das Almas (Goiás, Brazil), which means “river of the souls” in Portuguese
Retroculus lapidifer (Castelnau 1855) lapidis, stone; fero, to bear, referring to how this cichlid covers its eggs with small pebbles, which it carries in its mouth one at a time
Retroculus septentrionalis Gosse 1971 northern, the northernmost member of the genus
Retroculus xinguensis Gosse 1971 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Rio Xingú, Mato Grosso, Brazil, type locality
Rheoheros McMahan & Matamoros 2015 rheos, stream or current, referring to preferred habitat; Heros, generic name formerly used for many neotropical cichlids
Rheoheros coeruleus (Stawikowski & Werner 1987) blue, referring to sky-blue color on body and fins of breeding males and females
Rheoheros lentiginosus (Steindachner 1864) freckled, referring to dense brown speckles all over body
Rocio Schmitter-Soto 2007 rocío, Spanish word for morning dew, an “image evoked by the resplendent spots on cheek and sides of some species”; Rocío is also the forename of Schmitter-Soto’s wife
Rocio gemmata Contreras-Balderas & Schmitter-Soto 2007 bejeweled, referring to large, bright green and blue cheek and opercle spots in life [treated as a synonym of R. octofasciata by some workers]
Rocio ocotal Schmitter-Soto 2007 from the Spanish ocotal, meaning an ocote (species of pine) forest, referring to Laguna Ocotal, Chiapas, México, where it appears to be endemic
Rocio octofasciata (Regan 1903) octo, eight; fasciata, banded, referring to seven dark bands on side and one at base of caudal fin
Rocio spinosissima (Vaillant & Pellegrin 1902) very thorny, presumably referring to short dorsal- and anal-fin spines (i.e., more like thorns than spines) and/or to “sometimes more numerous” (translation) dorsal-fin spines than Herotilapia multispinosa, its presumed congener at the time
Rondonacara Ottoni & Mattos 2015 Rondon, in honor of Cândido Rondon (1865-1958), Brazilian army engineer and explorer, leader of the Rondon-Roosevelt Scientific Expedition (1913-1914), during which R. hoehnei was collected; acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids
Rondonacara hoehnei (Miranda Ribeiro 1918) in honor of Brazilian botanist Frederico Carlos Hoehne (1882-1959), who collected type
Satanoperca Günther 1862 satan, devil or demon, referring to S. daemon (see below); perca, perch, i.e., a perch-like fish
Satanoperca acuticeps (Heckel 1840) acutus, sharp or pointed; ceps, head, referring to more pointed head compared to S. daemon and S. jurupari
Satanoperca curupira Ota, Kullander, Depra, da Graça & Pavanelli 2018 Curupira, a mythological creature of Brazilian folklore that protects the forest and its inhabitants, punishing those who hunt for pleasure or who kill breeding females or defenseless juveniles; the legend reveals the relationship between indigenous people and the forest: it is not about exploration and indiscriminate use, but respect for life
Satanoperca daemon (Heckel 1840) demon, translation of jurupari, local Tupí name in Brazil for this and related cichlids, derived from a local legend in which a spirit named Jurupari swallowed three little boys who, seeking shelter from thunder in the forest, fled into its mouth thinking it was a cave, and were then vomited into four baskets upon Jurupari’s return to the village, probably alluding to the mouthbrooding care of female Satanoperca (wherein fry retreat to their mother’s mouth for protection and are expelled when the danger is past); apparently, the natives were frightened by the fact that the young of these fishes were born from their mouths and thus regarded it as the work of the devil
Satanoperca jurupari (Heckel 1840) local Tupí name in Brazil for this and related cichlids, meaning demon (see S. daemon for explanation)
Satanoperca leucosticta (Müller & Troschel 1849) leukos, white; stiktos, spotted or blotched, referring to numerous small whitish or iridescent bluish spots on head and dorsal and caudal fins
Satanoperca lilith Kullander & Ferreira 1988 Lilith, a nocturnal female demon in Babylonian and Jewish folklore, continuing the Tupí tradition of naming these cichlids after demons (see S. daemon) [a noun in apposition, without the matronymic “ae”]
Satanoperca mapiritensis (Fernández-Yépez 1950) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Río Mapirito al Sur de Maturín, Monagas, Venezuela, type locality (also occurs in Colombia)
Satanoperca pappaterra (Heckel 1840) local name for this and related cichlids (Geophagus) in Mato Grosso, Brazil, “probably derived from the diet of the fish, which seeks out water plants growing in the mud” (translation, italics in original) [actually, “eartheaters” uproot plants while feeding from the substrate]
Satanoperca rhynchitis Kullander 2012 rhynchos, snout; –itus, adjectival suffix expressing possession, referring to long, pointed snout
Satanoperca setepele Ota, Deprá, Kullander, Graça & Pavanelli 2022 sete-pele, Portuguese for “seven skins,” a Brazilian name for a shape-shifting demon, alluding to the folklore surrounding the name Satanoperca (see S. daemon)
Saxatilia Varella, Kullander, Menezes, Oliveira & López-Fernández 2023 named for its type species, S. saxatilis
Saxatilia albopunctata (Pellegrin 1904) albus, white; punctatus, spotted, referring to numerous white spots on body and unpaired fins
Saxatilia alta (Eigenmann 1912) high, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to higher placement of humeral spot (centered on lateral line except in very young) compared with S. saxatilis (entirely below lateral line) [Crenicichla vaillanti Pellegrin 1903 is a senior synonym but has not been used as valid for over 50 years]
Saxatilia anthurus (Cope 1872) anthos, flower; urus, tail, referring to caudal fin, “deep crimson, fading to purple at base, with a longitudinal dark shade in the centre, and series of small oval pink spots, one between each pair of rays”
Saxatilia brasiliensis (Bloch 1792) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Brazil, type locality (and where it is endemic)
Saxatilia britskii (Kullander 1982) in honor of Heraldo A. Britski (Universidade de São Paulo), for his “valuable” help during Kullander’s stay in São Paulo (e.g., arranging excursion during which type was collected)
Saxatilia coppenamensis (Ploeg 1987) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Coppename River system, Suriname, type locality (also occurs in Saramacca River system)
Saxatilia frenata (Gill 1858) bridled, presumably referring to black band extending from jaw to opercular spine (but interrupted at the eye)
Saxatilia gaucho (Lucena & Kullander 1992) gaúcho, local Brazilian name for cowboy, referring to its distribution in the traditional south Brazilian cattle ranching districts
Saxatilia hummelincki (Ploeg 1991) in honor of zoologist Pieter Wagenaar Hummelinck (1907-2003), founder of the Foundation for Scientific Research in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, on the occasion of his 83rd birthday
Saxatilia inpa (Ploeg 1991) named after INPA, acronym for Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Manaus, Brazil), whose staff supplied Ploeg with “enormous amounts of material” which served partially as the basis for his revision of the genus
Saxatilia isbrueckeri (Ploeg 1991) in honor of ichthyologist Isaäc J.H. Isbrücker (b. 1944), Zoölogisch Museum (Amsterdam), Ploeg’s “colleague, friend and teacher”
Saxatilia labrina (Spix & Agassiz 1831) derived from labrum, lip, referring to its thick lips (“labris crassissimis”)
Saxatilia lepidota (Heckel 1840) scaled, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to larger and/or “more uniform” (translation) scales compared with Crenicichla macrophthalma, its presumed congener at the time
Saxatilia lucius (Cope 1870) lucius, pike (Esocidae), referring to its pike-like shape
Saxatilia nickeriensis (Ploeg 1987) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Nickerie River system, Suriname, type locality
Saxatilia pellegrini (Ploeg 1991) in honor of French ichthyologist Jacques Pellegrin (1873-1944), for his contribution to the knowledge of the genus Crenicichla (original genus) and cichlids in general
Saxatilia ploegi (Varella, Loeb, Lima & Kullander 2018) in honor of Dutch ichthyologist Alex Ploeg, whose Ph.D. thesis dealt with the taxonomic revision, biogeography and phylogeny of Crenicichla (original genus), and who published papers on systematics of the genus from 1986 to 1991, describing a total of 23 species, 18 of which still considered valid; since then, he worked as interlocutor between the ornamental fish industry and other institutions worldwide, before losing his life (along with his wife and son and son’s friend) when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over the Ukraine on 17 July 2014
Saxatilia proteus (Cope 1872) Proteus, a sea god capable of changing his form, referring to how this species is “represented by numerous specimens, which vary in many respects [e.g., color and shape] from an average standard, constituting several varieties”
Saxatilia pydanielae (Ploeg 1991) in honor of Lúcia H. Rapp Py-Daniel, Curator of Fishes, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, for her hospitality when Ploeg visited Manaus in November 1987 and July 1989
Saxatilia santosi (Ploeg 1991) in honor of Ploeg’s friend Geraldo Mendes dos Santos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, who collected this cichlid during a survey of Rondônian rivers (1984-1988)
Saxatilia saxatilis (Linnaeus 1758) among rocks, allusion not explained and perhaps a misnomer as this cichlid generally occurs in swampy, blackwater habitats and in forest streams above the first rapids; since Linnaeus placed it in the bream genus Sparus and before that (1754) in the drum genus Sciaena, perhaps he believed it was a marine fish that occurred among rocks or reefs (the only locality information he provided was “Surinam”)
Saxatilia semicincta (Steindachner 1892) semi-, half; cinctus, belt or girdle, referring to 8-9 dark crossbands on upper half of body
Saxatilia sipaliwini (Ploeg 1987) named for the Sipaliwini River, Corantijn River system, Suriname, where it appears to be endemic
Saxatilia sveni (Ploeg 1991) in honor of “Swedish cichlidologist” Sven O. Kullander (b. 1952), Swedish Museum of Natural History, for his contributions to the knowledge of the genus Crenicichla (original genus)
Symphysodon Heckel 1840 symphysis, grown together (sym, together; physis, growth, body form or appearance); odous, tooth, referring to presence of teeth located over area where the two jaw halves meet (the symphysis)
Symphysodon aequifasciatus Pellegrin 1904 aequus, same or equal; fasciatus, banded, referring to equally wide dark stripes across sides, different from the pattern with a dominant middle bar in S. discus
Symphysodon discus Heckel 1840 flat or circular plate, referring to its body shape
Symphysodon tarzoo Lyons 1959 contraction of “Tarpon Zoo,” an ornamental fish export firm in Tarpon Springs, Florida, USA, with a fish collecting station in Leticia, Colombia, from which Lyons’ specimens originated
Taeniacara Myers 1935 taenia, band or stripe, referring to broad black lateral band down middle of sides; acará, Tupí-Guaraní word for cichlids but in this case possibly referring to Nannacara, from which it differs in its elongate form and absence of a lateral line
Taeniacara candidi Myers 1935 in honor of Ed. A. Candidus (Morsemere, New Jersey, USA), whose “aquarium collection is famed for the ichthyological rarities it contains,” including type of this cichlid
Tahuantinsuyoa Kullander 1986 Quechua name (pronounced tah-wanteen-soo-you-ah) for the Inca Empire
Tahuantinsuyoa chipi Kullander 1991 Shipibo word for sister, referring to “close, next-river, geographic relationship” with T. macantzatza, its only known congener
Tahuantinsuyoa macantzatza Kullander 1986 Shipibo words for stone (macan) and fish (tzatza), referring to predominantly stony bed of the Río Huacamayo, Peru, type locality [combined with the generic name, our choice for the most unpronounceable binomen in fishes]
Talamancaheros Říčan & Novák 2016 named for the Talamanca mountains of lower Central America (Costa Rica and western Panama), where it occurs; Heros, old neotropical cichlid name meaning “hero,” used here to mean “hero of the Talamanca mountains”
Talamancaheros sieboldii (Kner 1863) in honor of friend and colleague Karl (or Carl) Theodor Ernst von Siebold (1804-1885), physiologist and zoologist, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (München, Germany), who invited Kner to study a collection of Central American fishes made by German explorer and geographer Moritz Wagner (1813-1887), including type of this one
Talamancaheros underwoodi (Regan 1906) in honor of British naturalist-taxidermist Cecil F. Underwood (1867-1943), who collected natural history specimens in Costa Rica, including type of this cichlid
Teleocichla Kullander 1988 Teleo-, referring to the African cichlid genus Teleogramma, reflecting parallel morphology (elongate shape and continuous lateral line); cichla, referring to the closely related South American cichlid genus Crenicichla
Teleocichla centisquama Zuanon & Sazima 2002 centum, a hundred; squama, scale, referring to 113-129 scales along continuous (unbroken) lateral line, the most in the genus
Teleocichla centrarchus Kullander 1988 kentron, spine; archus, anus, only species in genus (except for T. wajapi) with four anal-fin spines
Teleocichla cinderella Kullander 1988 diminutive of cinis, ashes, referring to gray and black coloration, producing an ashy appearance
Teleocichla gephyrogramma Kullander 1988 gephyra, bridge; gramme, line, referring to its “nearly united, or bridged” lateral lines
Teleocichla monogramma Kullander 1988 monos, only; gramme, line, referring to its single lateral line
Teleocichla preta Varella, Zuanon, Kullander & López-Fernández 2016 Portuguese word for black, referring to diagnostic dark overall coloration of body (and its common name among aquarists and Rio Xingu fishermen)
Teleocichla prionogenys Kullander 1988 prion, saw; genys, cheek, referring to serrated preoperculum
Teleocichla proselytus Kullander 1988 Greek for stranger or newcomer, referring to lack of distinctive diagnostic characters compared to congeners
Teleocichla wajapi Varella & Moreira 2013 named for the Wajãpi (also known as Waiapi or Oyampi) people, numbering less than 2000 people distributed in several tribes in Amapá, Brazil (where this cichlid occurs), and in French Guiana
Theraps Günther 1862 slave or attendant, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to fry-guarding behavior (although Günther did not mention this); a more likely explanation is a superficial resemblance to Terapon theraps (Perciformes: Terapontidae)
Theraps irregularis Günther 1862 irregular, referring to seven “rather irregular” transverse blackish bands on sides, some of which extend to dorsal fin
Thorichthys Meek 1904 throsko, to leap and ichthys, fish; according to Meek, T. helleri are “attracted by anything which enters the water and will jump out of it in an apparently playful mood. When abundant they are easily caught in the hand, for as soon as your finger touches the water, they will come leaping towards you.”
Thorichthys affinis (Günther 1862) related, described as “very closely allied” to T. aureus
Thorichthys aureus (Günther 1862) gold, presumably referring to its “Yellowish-olive” coloration
Thorichthys callolepis (Regan 1904) callo-, beautiful; lepis, scale, presumably referring to small, light-blue spot at base of each scale on body
Thorichthys helleri (Steindachner 1864) in honor of Austrian botanist Karl Bartholomaeus Heller (1824-1880), who collected type while exploring México (1845-1848)
Thorichthys maculipinnis (Steindachner 1864) maculi-, spotted; pinnis, fin, referring to yellow-blue spots on anal, dorsal and caudal fins
Thorichthys meeki Brind 1918 in honor of ichthyologist Seth Eugene Meek (1859-1914), who proposed the genus Thorichthys in 1904
Thorichthys panchovillai Del Moral-Flores, López-Segovia & Hernández-Arellano 2017 in honor of José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (1878-1923), better known as Francisco Villa and “Pancho Villa,” the “historical, chief and fundamental pillar of the Mexican Revolution” (translation)
Thorichthys pasionis (Rivas 1962) –is, genitive singular of: Río de la Pasión at Sayaxche, El Petén, Guatemala, type locality (also occurs in México)
Thorichthys socolofi (Miller & Taylor 1984) in honor of Ross Socolof (1925-2009), aquarium fish exporter, breeder and wholesaler, “who was instrumental in making the first collections of the new species and who, over the years, has enthusiastically collected cichlids and other fishes from Middle America and generously made them available for study”
Tomocichla Regan 1908 tomo, etymology not explained nor evident, perhaps from tomos, Greek for part, book or volume, allusion not evident; cichla, from the Greek kichle, historically applied to both thrushes (Aves) and wrasses (Labridae, once thought to be related to cichlids), now applied only to cichlids, perhaps referring here to Cichla, type genus of family
Tomocichla asfraci Allgayer 2002 coined from the initial letters of l’Association France Cichlid, for its promotion of the family Cichlidae
Tomocichla tuba (Meek 1912) local name for this cichlid in Victoria, Costa Rica, type locality (per Meek 1914; also occurs in Nicaragua and Panama); according to Caldwell et al. (1959), tuba is a Mosquito indian name word meaning “friend,” referring to the “almost universal availability of the fish in the area, and the indian along the river feels that as long as he has his ever-carried handline and some sort of bait (usually some of the shrimps which abound in the roots of the water hyacinths) he will not starve.”
Trichromis McMahan & Chakrabarty 2015 tri-, three, referring to the three vibrant colors defining this genus (red, yellow, blue); chromis, a name dating to Aristotle, possibly derived from chroemo (to neigh), referring to a drum (Sciaenidae) and its ability to make noise, later expanded to embrace cichlids, damselfishes, dottybacks and wrasses (all perch-like fishes once thought to be related), often used in the names of African cichlid genera following Chromis (now Oreochromis) mossambicus Peters 1852, but used here, per the authors, as a Greek word for “fish”
Trichromis salvini (Günther 1862) in honor of English herpetologist-ornithologist Osbert Salvin (1835-1898), who collected type with Frederick DuCane Godman (see Chuco godmanni, Cichliformes part 6)
Uaru Heckel 1840 from Uarù urà (Uarù=toad), local name of A. amphiacanthoides along the río Negro of Brazil
Uaru amphiacanthoides Heckel 1840 –oides, having the form of: Amphiacanthus, allusion not explained, perhaps a misspelling of Amphacanthus (=Siganus), referring to their similarity to rabbitfishes
Uaru fernandezyepezi Stawikowski 1989 in honor of the late Venezuelan ichthyologist Agustín Fernández-Yépez (1916-1977), named at the request of Hans J. Köpke, a fish exporter and tour organizer in Venezuela, who collected type and considered Fernández-Yépez a helpful and “fatherly” friend and an “excellent connoisseur” of Venezuelan fishes (translations)
Vieja Fernández-Yépez 1969 Spanish for “old woman,” vernacular for cichlids in parts of South America and labrids in the West Indies, originally applied (according to Jordan & Evermann 1896) to larger and plainly colored fishes (compare with Loricariichthys anus, Siluriformes part 3, and Guianacara owroewefi, above)
Vieja bifasciata (Steindachner 1864) bi-, two; fasciatus, banded, referring to two longitudinal bands on sides of adults
Vieja breidohri (Werner & Stawikowski 1987) in honor of the authors’ collecting partner Hans-Günther Breidohr (1938-2015), German cichlid aquarist responsible for the discovery and first import of many New World cichlids
Vieja fenestrata (Günther 1860) windowed, referring to “six black vertical bands, crossing a deep black longitudinal band,” i.e., creating a window- or lattice-like pattern
Vieja guttulata (Günther 1864) diminutive of guttata, dotted, presumably referring to fine dappling of dark spots on body and fins
Vieja hartwegi (Taylor & Miller 1980) in honor of the late Norman E. Hartweg (1904-1964), former Curator of Reptiles at the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology, who had a broad interest in Mexican biology and made valuable fish collections during his field studies in México (where this cichlid is endemic)
Vieja maculicauda (Regan 1905) maculi-, spot; cauda, tail, referring to large dark blotch on caudal peduncle
Vieja melanurus (Günther 1862) melano-, black; oura, tail, referring to “deep-black” band along middle of caudal fin [often incorrectly declined as an adjective, melanura]
Vieja zonata (Meek 1905) banded, presumably referring to a broad black band from opercle to caudal fin
Wajpamheros Říčan & Piálek 2016 derived from Maya Chol dialect word wajpam meaning “to have mud on one’s face,” referring to how it feeds by inserting mouth and lips into soft substrates (hence mud on the face); Heros, an old name for neotropical cichlids, meaning “hero” (see Heros, above)
Wajpamheros nourissati (Allgayer 1989) in honor of Jean Claude Nourissat (1942-2003), founder and long-time president of l’Association France Cichlid, who collected type (note: Nourissat died from malaria three days after returning from a collecting trip to Madagascar)
Wallaciia Varella, Kullander, Menezes, Oliveira & López-Fernández 2023 named for its type species, W. wallacii
Wallaciia anamiri (Ito & Rapp Py-Daniel 2015) Anãmiri, Tupí-Guaraní word for dwarf, referring to small size (up to 47.8 mm SL)
Wallaciia compressiceps (Ploeg 1986) compressus, pressed together; ceps, head, referring to strongly compressed head
Wallaciia heckeli (Ploeg 1989) in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel (1790-1857), who proposed Crenicichla (original genus) in 1840 and described its first 10 species (eight, in three genera, still valid today)
Wallaciia notophthalmus (Regan 1913) notos, back; opthalmus, eye, referring to large black ocellus on dorsal fin between 16th and 20th spines
Wallaciia regani (Ploeg 1989) in honor of Charles Tate Regan (1878-1943), Natural History Museum (London), the last ichthyologist to revise Crenicichla (original genus, 1913) before Ploeg
Wallaciia urosema (Kullander 1990) oura, tail; sema, signal, referring to its only conspicuous marking, a prominent dark spot at base of caudal fin
Wallaciia virgatula (Ploeg 1991) striped, referring to straight longitudinal black band from snout tip to caudal-fin blotch, consisting of a preorbital stripe, postorbital blotch, pectoral blotch, and a stripe from operculum to caudal-fin blotch
Wallaciia wallacii (Regan 1905) in honor of English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), who collected (but lost during transport) and illustrated a similar species (probably W. notophthalmus), which Regan thought might be identical to this one, in his expedition to the Rio Negro and Rio Uaupés region (1850-1852)