''Satanoperca'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

s from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where they are known from the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

, Essequibo, Nickerie,

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

and

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

–

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

river basins. They are mainly found in areas with slow-moving waters, but some species have also been recorded from rapids. They are part of a group popularly known as

eartheater Geophagini is a tribe of cichlids from the subfamily Cichlinae, the American cichlids. It is the sister taxon to the clade which includes the Cichlasomatini and Heroini. Fishes in the Geophagini are distributed from Panama south to Argentina, it ...

s and feed by picking up mouthfuls of sand to sift out food items such as invertebrates, plant material and

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

(the only exception is mid-water feeding ''S. acuticeps''). They often feed in small groups and one individual may act as a watchman, which will charge an approaching

piranha A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...

with its mouth open and fins erected. The ''Satanoperca'' in the group take turn acting as watchman. ''Satanoperca'' are up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

, but the smallest species reach less than that size. The species fall into two or three main groups: The ''S. daemon'' group (including ''S. lilith'') are relatively large, and have a distinct dark spot on the tail and one or two dark spots on the side of the body. ''S. acuticeps'' is rather similar and variably placed in its own group or included in the ''S. daemon'' group, but it has three dark spots on the body and a differently shaped mouth. The remaining species are part of the ''S. jurupari'' group, which may have a small tail-spot and may have a poorly defined pattern of dark bands or blotches on the body, but always lack distinct dark spots on the body.

Species

There are currently 9 recognized species in this genus. Additionally, several

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 ...

are known. * '' Satanoperca acuticeps'' (Sharphead eartheater) * '' Satanoperca curupira'' * '' Satanoperca daemon'' (Threespot eartheater) * ''

Satanoperca jurupari ''Satanoperca jurupari'', the demon eartheater, is a species of cichlid endemic to the Amazon basin in South America. It can reach a length of SL. Feeding behavior and diet Like some other Geophagini cichlids, the common name 'eartheater' is ...

'' (Demon eartheater) * '' Satanoperca leucosticta'' * '' Satanoperca lilith'' (One-spotted eartheater, Lilith's eartheater) * '' Satanoperca mapiritensis'' * '' Satanoperca pappaterra'' (Pantanal eartheater) * '' Satanoperca rhynchitis'' * '' Satanoperca setepele''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q134894 Geophagini Cichlid fish of South America Taxa named by Albert Günther Cichlid genera