''Crenicara'' is a small

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 n ...

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 native to creeks and rivers in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and

Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to: * Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana * Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana; * Esseq ...

basins in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. These cichlids have several dark spots on the sides of their bodies, and do not surpass in length. In the past, the members of the genus '' Dicrossus'' were sometimes included in ''Crenicara''. Members of both genera are sometimes known as checkerboard or chessboard cichlids.

Species

The two recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Crenicara latruncularium ''Crenicara'' is a small genus of cichlid fishes native to creeks and rivers in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in South America. These cichlids have several dark spots on the sides of their bodies, and do not surpass in length. In the past, th ...

'' S. O. Kullander & Staeck, 1990 * ''

Crenicara punctulatum ''Crenicara punctulatum'', the checkerboard cichlid, is a species of cichlid fish native to creeks and rivers in the Amazon and Essequibo basins in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly ...

'' ( Günther, 1863) (checkerboard cichlid) ; Names brought to synonymy * ''Crenicara altispinosa'' Haseman, 1911, a synonym for '' Mikrogeophagus altispinosus'' * ''Crenicara elegans'' Steindachner, 1875, a synonym for ''

'', the Checkerboard cichlid * ''Crenicara filamentosa'' Ladiges, 1958, a synonym for ''

Dicrossus filamentosus ''Dicrossus filamentosus'' is a species of dwarf cichlid fish. It occurs in the Rio Negro and Orinoco basins of Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North ...

'', the Chessboard cichlid * ''Crenicara maculata'' (Steindachner, 1875) and ''Crenicara praetoriusi'' Weise, 1935, synonyms for '' Dicrossus maculatus''

References

Geophagini Fish of South America Cichlid genera Taxa named by Franz Steindachner {{cichlid-stub