''Aequidens'' is a

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 ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cichlidae 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 ...

found in

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 ...

. Formerly a

wastebasket genus Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by e ...

, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, Orinoco Basin and river basins in

The Guianas The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

. The only exceptions are ''A. plagiozonatus'' which also occurs in the

Paraná Basin The Paraná Basin (, ) is a large cratonic sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder area is distribu ...

, and ''A. tetramerus'' which also occurs in the

Parnaíba River The Parnaíba River ( ) is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. Its main course is long and the Parnaíba River Basin covers .Ramos, T.P.A.; Ramos, R.T.C.; and Ramos, S.A.Q.A. (2014). Ichthyofaun ...

Taxonomy

Many species formerly placed in this genus have been reallocated to other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

such as ''

Andinoacara ''Andinoacara'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae. The genus was described in 2009.Musilova, Rican and Novak, 2009''Phylogeny of the Neotropical cichlid fish tribe Cichlasomatini (Teleostei: Cichlidae) based on morphological and molecula ...

'', '' Bujurquina'', '' Cleithracara'', '' Krobia'', '' Laetacara'', '' Rondonacara'' and ''

Tahuantinsuyoa ''Tahuantinsuyoa'' is a small genus of cichlids endemic to Peru where they are found in the Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin cov ...

''.Ottoni, F.P. & Mattos, J.L.O. (2015): Phylogenetic position and re-description of the endangered cichlid ''Nannacara hoehnei'', and description of a new genus from Brazilian Cerrado (Teleostei, Cichlidae, Cichlasomatini). ''Vertebrate Zoology, 65 (1): 65-79.''

Species

There are currently 18 recognized species in this genus:Musilová, Z., Říčan, O. & Novák, J. (2009
Phylogeny of the Neotropical cichlid fish tribe Cichlasomatini (Teleostei: Cichlidae) based on morphological and molecular data, with the description of a new genus.
''Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 47 (3): 209-304.''Wijkmark, N., Kullander, S.O. & Barriga S., R.E. (2012)
''Andinoacara blombergi'', a new species from the río Esmeraldas basin in Ecuador and a review of ''A. rivulatus'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 23 (2): 117-137.'' * ''

Aequidens chimantanus ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' Inger, 1956 * ''

Aequidens diadema ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' ( Heckel, 1840) * ''

Aequidens epae ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The G ...

'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * ''

Aequidens gerciliae ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * ''

Aequidens mauesanus ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' S. O. Kullander, 1997 * ''

Aequidens metae ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1922 * ''

Aequidens michaeli ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' S. O. Kullander, 1995 * '' Aequidens pallidus'' ( Heckel, 1840) (Doublespot acara) * '' Aequidens paloemeuensis'' S. O. Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 * '' Aequidens patricki'' S. O. Kullander, 1984 * '' Aequidens plagiozonatus'' S. O. Kullander, 1984 * '' Aequidens pirilampo'' Oliveira et al., 2024Oliveira, Rianne Caroline de & Luiz Fernando Caserta Tencatt, Gabriel de Carvalho Deprá, Ricardo Britzke, Claudio Oliveira, Júnio da Graça, Weferson. 2024. "A new species of Aequidens (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) from the rio Paraguai basin, Brazil". Neotropical Ichthyology. 22(2):e230106. DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-2023-0106 * ''

Aequidens potaroensis ''Aequidens'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in South America. Formerly a wastebasket genus, as presently defined ''Aequidens'' is largely restricted to the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin and river basins in The Guianas. The only ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * '' Aequidens rondoni'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1918) * '' Aequidens superomaculatum'' Hernández-Acevedo, Machado-Allison & Lasso A., 2015Hernández-Acevedo, J.H., Machado-Allison, A. & Lasso, C.A. (2015)
''Aequidens superomaculatum'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae) a new species from the upper Orinoco and Río Negro, Venezuela.
''Biota Colombiana, 16 (2): 96-106.'' * '' Aequidens tetramerus'' ( Heckel, 1840) (Saddle cichlid) * '' Aequidens tubicen'' S. O. Kullander & E. J. G. Ferreira, 1991 * '' Aequidens viridis'' ( Heckel, 1840)

References

Cichlasomatini Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Taxa named by William L. Bray {{Cichlasomatinae-stub