Peacock bass or Brazilian tucunaré are large freshwater cichlids of the

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 ...

''Cichla''. These are diurnal

predatory fish Predatory fish are hypercarnivorous fish that actively prey upon other fish or aquatic animals, with examples including shark, billfish, barracuda, pike/muskellunge, walleye, perch and salmon. Some omnivorous fish, such as the red-bellied piranh ...

es native to 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 Orinoco basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas, in tropical

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 sout ...

. They are sometimes referred to in English by their Brazilian name ''tucunaré'' or their

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

name ''pavon''. Despite the common name and their superficial similarity, they are not closely related to other fish known as bass, such as the North American

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

(''Micropterus salmoides''). Peacock bass are important

food fish Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

and also considered valuable

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

. This has resulted in their accidental (escapees from fish farms) or deliberate (release by fishers)

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

to regions outside their native range, both elsewhere in South America, and in warm parts of North America and Asia. Singles have been caught elsewhere, including Australia, but do not appear to have become established there. Where established as an introduced species, they may become invasive and damage the ecosystem because of their highly predatory behavior, feeding extensively on smaller native fish. The largest species in the genus, the

speckled peacock bass ''Cichla temensis'', the speckled pavon, speckled peacock bass, painted pavon, or three-barred peacock bass, is a very large South American cichlid, and a prized food and game fish. Reaching up to in length and in weight, it is the largest cich ...

(''C. temensis''), reaches up to in weight and in length, possibly making it the largest species of cichlid (others suggest that prize goes to the African

giant cichlid The giant cichlid (''Boulengerochromis microlepis''), also known as the emperor cichlid, is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae, Endemism, endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa.taxonomic review published in 2006, 15 ''Cichla'' species are recognized by FishBase: In addition, possibly

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

of peacock bass are known from the Travessão and

Paru River The Paru River is a northern tributary of the lower Amazon in Pará state in north-central Brazil. The river flows through the Uatuma-Trombetas moist forests ecoregion. Part of the river's basin is in the Maicuru Biological Reserve. In popular c ...

s in Brazil. Traditionally, only five peacock bass were recognized, but in the review in 2006, nine new species were described and ''C. nigromaculata'' was revalidated. In general, the various species are similar in proportions and most

meristics Meristics is an area of ichthyology and herpetology which relates to counting quantitative features of fish and reptiles, such as the number of fins or scales. A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species of fish, or us ...

, but differ in colour pattern (and range). This is similar to other diurnal cichlids, where visual clues play an important role in the behavior, including breeding. The speckled or three-barred peacock bass (''C. temensis'') in particular has caused problems due to its extensive variation, but the speckled pattern has now been shown to be present in nonbreeders and the three-barred when breeding. Although minor variations are known from adults of other peacock bass species, none shows the extreme variation of the speckled/three-barred peacock bass. A genetic study published in 2012 has cast doubt on the validity of some of the species recognized in the review in 2006. Aside from limited hybridization among many species, in both natural and human-altered environments, several species do not show sufficient differentiation to imply reproductive isolation and/or a history of independent evolution. Among the species implicated as probable "good" species were ''C. intermedia'', ''C. orinocensis'', ''C. temensis'', ''C. melaniae'', ''C. mirianae'', and ''C. piquiti''. The other species were suggested to be part of two widespread meta-species or

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

es, called ''Cichla pinima

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'' (including ''C. jariina'', ''C. thyrorus'', and ''C. vazzoleri'') and ''C. ocellaris sensu lato'' (including ''C. monoculus'', ''C. nigromaculata'', ''C. pleiozona'', and ''C. kelberi''). In contrast, a genetic study published in 2007 suggested that two of those demoted

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, ''C. monoculus'' and ''C. pleiozona'', are valid species (this study lacked samples from some of the more localized proposed species). A 2020 study described a new species, ''C. cataractae.'' The peacock bass genus ''Cichla'' has been placed by some authorities as the only genus in the

monogeneric In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

Cichlini.

Common names

Many common names are used for these fish in Brazil, the country of their largest native region. The most popular of these is ''tucunaré''. In Spanish, the generic common name for these cichlids is ''pavόn''. Pavón, in Spanish, means "peacock", while the Brazilian name comes from Tupi, an indigenous language of Brazil, meaning "friend of the tree", as this peacock bass usually stays close to submerged trees to hunt and to protect itself and its nests.

Description

The speckled peacock bass is the largest species and can grow to in length, and may be the largest of all cichlid fishes. Most display a color pattern based on a theme of three wide vertical stripes on their bodies, sometimes with smaller intermediate bands, only a grey, brown, yellow, or green background. They also exhibit a spot on their tail fins that resembles the eyes on a peacock's tail feathers—a feature which resulted in their common names (this "ocellus" is a common feature of South American cichlids, and is thought to deter predators and fin-biting piranhas). In addition, many adult fishes (primarily males, but also some females) develop a pronounced hump on their foreheads (nuchal hump) shortly before and during the rainy season, when the fishes generally spawn. Other physical traits can vary greatly, depending on the species, individual, and stage of development. These include dark rosettes instead of stripes, light speckles, and impressive shades of bright green, orange, blue, and gold. Very young fish exhibit dark horizontal stripes down half (''C. orinocensis, C. ocellaris, et al.'') or the whole (''C. temensis, C. pinima, et al.'') body.

Conservation status

The IUCN has not investigated the conservation status of any peacock bass species. Therefore, they do not appear on its red list. Some of the species have relatively small distributions, and ''C. melaniae'' is restricted to the lower

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; pt, Rio Xingu, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Byti'', ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. ...

in an area that will be heavily affected by the

Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the inst ...

As gamefish

Sport fishermen have made these cichlids prized game fish for their fighting qualities, so much so that many travel agencies now arrange fishing trips to Brazil and Florida specifically to catch peacock bass. Renowned American peacock bass fisherman and fishing author,

Larry Larsen Larry Larsen is a United States freshwater sport fishermen and author. He is best known for catching peacock bass. He is Founder and President of the Peacock Bass Association. He was born in 1945 in Wichita, Kansas where he received a bachelor's d ...

, refers to them as "freshwater bullies" due to their ferocious nature when hunting and their tendency to damage and sometimes destroy fishing gear when striking. The most common techniques for catching these cichlids are similar to those for catching

, with the notable exception that peacock bass usually will not strike artificial worms, a widely used lure among largemouth bass fisherman. In addition, fly fishing techniques, including lures such as

poppers Popper is a slang term given broadly to drugs of the chemical class called alkyl nitrites that are inhaled. Most widely sold products include the original isoamyl nitrite or isopentyl nitrite, and isopropyl nitrite. Isobutyl nitrite is al ...

and large streamers, are becoming increasingly popular for catching them.

Introductions

Peacock bass (Cichla) from Jurong Lake, Singapore - 20110322

Invasive species

Peacock bass have been identified as invasive species and cause of ecological imbalances in some of their introduced areas. Peacock bass introduction in the Rosana Reservoir and upper Paraná River, both in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, resulted in a 95% decline in native fish density and 80% decline in richness in only two years. Few measures can protect native fish once peacock bass have been introduced. Reduction in native species' richness in lakes with introduced peacock bass was observed in all of the Gatun-area lakes, regardless of the presence of macrophyte refugia. After initial increases in abundance, introduced peacock bass often deplete local prey and resort to cannibalism.

In Panama's Gatun Lake

''Cichla ''cf.'' ocellaris'' was introduced into Panama via a freshwater creek in the Rio Chagres drainage region unintentionally in the late 1950s (experts are not certain of the exact date). A well-known

aquarist An aquarist is a person who manages aquariums, either professionally or as a hobby. They typically care for aquatic animals, including fish and marine invertebrates. Some may care for aquatic mammals. Aquarists often work at public aquariums. They ...

and medical doctor began raising peacock bass in a small pond in his back yard for sale as aquarium fish. Within a year, heavy rains flooded the pond, causing some fry to escape into a nearby creek which drained into

Gatun Lake Gatun Lake ( es, Lago Gatún) is a large freshwater artificial lake to the south of Colón, Panama. At approximately above sea level, it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. Gatun ...

. By 1964, the lake and nearby rivers and creeks were overrun with the cichlids, providing sport fishing opportunities that had not existed previously. Since then, ''C.'' cf. ''ocellaris'' has become the dominant sport fish species in the area. The presence of peacock bass in Panama has caused significant damage to the native fish assemblage, by eliminating seven of eleven previously common fish species, and significantly reducing three others. Local extinctions and a decrease in abundance of many species led to cascading second-order effects on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

and tertiary consumer communities. Malaria incidence was reported to have risen significantly in the area around Gatun following the elimination of prey fishes that had previously kept the mosquito population at lower levels. This is an example of how species introductions can have explicit consequences for human health.

In Florida

In 1984, after 10 years of study, Florida officials deliberately introduced butterfly peacock bass and speckled peacock bass to the southern region of that state to prey on other non-native species, including the

oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

(''Astronotus ocellatus''),

Midas cichlid ''Amphilophus citrinellus'' is a large cichlid fish endemic to the San Juan River and adjacent watersheds in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In the aquarium trade ''A. citrinellus'' is often sold under the trade name of Midas cichlid. ''A. citrinellus ...

(''Amphilophus citrinellus''), and

spotted tilapia The spotted tilapia (''Pelmatolapia mariae''Dunz, A.R. & Schliewen, U.K. (2013): Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as ''“Tilapia”''. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolutio ...

(''Tilapia mariae''). Their introduction also provided additional

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit (economics), profit; or subsistence fishing ...

opportunities for anglers. While the butterfly peacock bass has flourished in Florida, the speckled peacock bass has not. Therefore, it is now illegal to kill or possess speckled peacock bass in Florida. The butterfly peacock bass tends to flourish in the canals and fresh waterways throughout south Florida. Because of their tropical origins, peacock bass cannot tolerate low water temperatures. This has prevented them from becoming abundant in Florida outside of Palm Beach, Broward, and

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

Counties. However, reports of them have extended to other counties in South Florida such as Collier,

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an e ...

, and Hendry counties. Especially near

Alligator Alley Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from the Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah–Miami Lakes, Florida, Miami Lakes border, a few miles northwest of Miami, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie in the ...

Aquaculture

Tilapia farmers sometimes keep peacock bass to eat any spawn that occur among their fish, in addition to eating any invasive fish that pose a threat to young tilapia (e.g. Centrarchidae, sunfish, piranha). Spawning and brood-raising reduce the growth rate of the tilapia, so introduction of ''Cichla'' is thought to maintain a high growth rate in the tilapia. They are also raised commercially for the aquarium trade. Asia is one of the main sources for aquacultured peacock bass. Peacock bass prey on any species that catches their eye, but those in which they seem most interested are tilapia, crayfish, tadpoles, mosquitofish, minnows, and guppies. Also, they will eat their own young when other fish are scarce.

Eating quality

Their eating quality is very good. Their flesh is white and sweet when cooked, and has very little oil, making it similar in taste to Lutjanidae, snapper or grouper. Also, they are not excessively bony. However, most professional American anglers recommend practicing catch and release for these species to protect their numbers in the United States. To help ensure this, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers strictly enforce bag limits for these fish.

References

External links

Gatun Lake
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2764835, from2=Q3468 Cichlid fish of South America Cichlid genera Recreational fishing Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider Cichlinae