''Amphilophus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...

fishes from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, ranging from southern Mexico to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. The genus currently contains 23 species, including several that are well-known from the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. However, studies led by Oldřich Říčan in 2008 and 2016 suggested that several species within ''Amphilophus'' should be moved to the genus '' Astatheros''. 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 In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specim ...

for ''Astatheros''), ''A. margaritifer'', ''A. rhytisma'', ''A. robertsoni'' and ''A. rostratus''. 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''. Říčan's study suggests that the ''Astatheros'' species are more closely related to the

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

and rainbow cichlid than to the remaining ''Amphilophus'' species. Several species from this genus are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the small Lake Apoyo (6 species) and Lake Xiloá (4 species) in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

, and are believed to be the result of

sympatric speciation Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, sympatric and sympatry are terms referring to organi ...

Species

According to

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

, there are currently 16 recognized species in this genus, listed below. According to

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously u ...

, ''Amphilophus erythraeus'' is a valid species (considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

of ''A. labiatus'' by FishBase), ''Amphilophus margaritifer'' is an invalid species, and ''Amphilophus'' includes two additional species, '' Amphilophus istlanus'' and '' Amphilophus trimaculatus'' (both these are placed in ''

Cichlasoma ''Cichlasoma'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. The genus was previously very large (a wastebasket taxon), including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America. Reclassification and subsequent s ...

'' by FishBase). Whereas ''trimaculatus'' belongs in ''Amphilophus'' based on genetics, appearance and behavior, the position of ''istlanus'' is less clear, as

nDNA Nuclear DNA (nDNA), or nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid, is the DNA contained within each cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. It encodes for the majority of the genome in eukaryotes, with mitochondrial DNA and plastid DNA coding for the rest. I ...

places it in ''Amphilophus'', but mDNA places it in '' Mayaheros''; ''istlanus'' is likely the result of

hybrid speciation Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was thou ...

involving ''A. trimaculatus'' and ''Mayaheros beani''. * '' Amphilophus amarillo'' Stauffer & McKaye, 2002 * '' Amphilophus astorquii'' Stauffer, McCrary & K. E. Black, 2008 (Black midas cichlid)
/ref> * '' Amphilophus chancho'' Stauffer, McCrary & K. E. Black, 2008 * '' Amphilophus citrinellus'' ( Günther, 1864) (Midas cichlid) * '' Amphilophus flaveolus'' Stauffer, McCrary & K. E. Black, 2008 * '' Amphilophus globosus'' Geiger, McCrary & Stauffer, 2010
/ref> * '' Amphilophus hogaboomorum'' ( Carr & Giovannoli, 1950) * '' Amphilophus labiatus'' ( Günther, 1864) (Red devil) * '' Amphilophus lyonsi'' ( J. P. Gosse, 1966) * '' Amphilophus margaritifer'' ( Günther, 1862) * '' Amphilophus sagittae'' Stauffer & McKaye, 2002 * '' Amphilophus supercilius'' Geiger, McCrary & Stauffer, 2010 * '' Amphilophus tolteca'' Recknagel, Kusche,

Elmer Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

& A. Meyer, 2013Recknagel, 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.'' * '' Amphilophus viridis'' Recknagel, Kusche,

& A. Meyer, 2013 * '' Amphilophus xiloaensis'' Stauffer & McKaye, 2002 * '' Amphilophus zaliosus'' ( Barlow, 1976) (Arrow cichlid)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133911 Heroini Fish of Central America Cichlid genera Taxa named by Louis Agassiz