''Cichlasoma'' 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 ...

of freshwater fish in the

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 ...

family. The genus was previously very large (a

wastebasket taxon 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 ...

), including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America. Reclassification and subsequent splitting of the genus by Sven O. Kullander and other ichthyologists has resulted in removing many of the former

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

from ''Cichlasoma'' to genera such as ''

Amphilophus ''Amphilophus'' is a genus of cichlid fishes from Central America, ranging from southern Mexico to Panama. The genus currently contains 23 species, including several that are well known from the aquarium trade. However, studies led by Oldřich � ...

'', '' Archocentrus'', '' Herichthys'', '' Heros'', '' Nandopsis'', '' Parachromis'', '' Thorichthys'', ''

Vieja ''Vieja'' is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America and Mexico. The majority of the species are freshwater fish found in stagnant or slow-moving waters of southern Mexico to El Salvador, but ''V. maculicauda'', which also occurs in brackis ...

'' and others in the tribe Heroini.

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 sixteen recognized species in this genus, but three very different Middle American

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : 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 name and ...

("''C.''"'' geddesi'' a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely 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 a ...

of '' Herichthys deppii'', and "''C.''"'' istlanum'' and "''C.''"'' trimaculatum'' placed in ''

'') are not included by Catalog of Fishes, effectively limiting ''Cichlasoma'' to a group of rather similar, medium-small cichlids of South America. * '' Cichlasoma amazonarum'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma araguaiense'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma bimaculatum'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1758) (Black acara) * '' Cichlasoma boliviense'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma dimerus'' ( Heckel, 1840) * '' Cichlasoma geddesi'' ( Regan, 1905) * '' Cichlasoma istlanum'' ( D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) * '' Cichlasoma orientale'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma orinocense'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma paranaense'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma portalegrense'' ( R. F. Hensel, 1870) * '' Cichlasoma pusillum'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma santifranciscense'' S. O. Kullander, 1983 * '' Cichlasoma taenia'' ( E. T. Bennett, 1831) (Brown coscarob) * '' Cichlasoma zarskei'' Ottoni, 2011

References

Cichlasomatini Cichlid genera Taxa named by William Swainson {{Cichlasomatinae-stub