''Cryptoheros'' 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 small

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 ...

fishes from

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and southeast

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. They reach up to in length.

Taxonomy and species

The genus formerly contained nine species that had been included within the genus ''

Archocentrus ''Archocentrus'' is a genus of cichlid fish from Central America. It currently contains a single species, the flier cichlid (''Archocentrus centrarchus''), which is found in stagnant and slow-moving freshwater habitats such as lakes, ponds, ditch ...

''. The

convict cichlid The convict cichlid (''Amatitlania nigrofasciata'') is a fish species from the family (biology), family Cichlidae, native to Central America, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium fish and have also been the subje ...

has sometimes been placed within the genus ''Cryptoheros'' as well, but is now considered a member of the genus ''

Amatitlania ''Amatitlania'' is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, altho ...

''. Several other species such as '' Amatitlania septemfasciata'' and '' Amatitlania sajica'' had also once been included within ''Cryptoheros''.

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.

currently recognizes four species in this genus: * '' Cryptoheros chetumalensis'' Schmitter-Soto, 2007 –

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

to the Yucatan Peninsula in

* '' Cryptoheros cutteri'' ( Fowler, 1932) – Atlantic side of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

* '' Cryptoheros panamensis'' (

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword" ...

, 1913) – Atlantic side of Panama * '' Cryptoheros spilurus'' ( Günther, 1862) (Blue-eye cichlid) –

Lake Izabal Lake Izabal (), also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of and a maximum depth of . The Polochic River is the largest river that drains into the lake. The lake, which is only a metre above sea level, ...

drainage in Guatemala ''C. panamenis'' is placed in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

Panamius ''Panamius'' is a genus of cichlid fishes found in moderately flowing rivers and streams in Panama. The only species within ''Panamius'' is ''Panamius panamensis''. ''Panamius'' had been previously considered a subgenus In biology, a subgenus ...

'' within ''Cryptoheros''. However, genetic analysis by Říčan, et al. revealed that ''C. panamensis'' is not closely related to the other species that are included in ''Cryptoheros''. They recommended that ''Panamius'' should be elevated to a full genus, meaning that ''C. panamensis'' becomes ''Panamius panamensis''.

References

Fish of Central America Heroini Cichlid genera {{Cichlasomatinae-stub