''Geophagus'' 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 cichlids that mainly live 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 ...

as far south as

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, but a single species, ''G. crassilabris'' is from

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

.Mattos, J.L.O., Costa, W.J.E.M. & Santos, A.C.A. (2015): ''Geophagus diamantinensis'', a new species of the ''G. brasiliensis'' species group from Chapada Diamantina, north-eastern Brazil (Cichlidae: Geophagini). ''Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters, 26 (3): 209-220.'' They are found in a wide range of freshwater habitats. They are part of a group popularly known as eartheaters and mostly feed by picking up mouthfuls of sediment 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 largest species reach 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 ...

. They are mostly kept in aquariums.

As an invasive species

''Geophagus surinamensis'' was an invasive species in Malaysia, recently found in

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (), is the administrative centre of Malaysia. The Seat of government, seat of the Government of Malaysia, federal government of Malaysia was moved in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajay ...

, the populations are now controlled by giant snakeheads.

Taxonomy

Geophagus steindachneri in Tropicarium-Oceanarium Budapest

Some cichlids previously included in this genus have been reallocated to '' Biotodoma'', '' Gymnogeophagus'' or '' Satanoperca''. Even with these as separate genera, ''Geophagus'' is currently

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

and in need of further taxonomic revision. There are three main groups: * ''Geophagus sensu stricto'' are mostly relatively peaceful, often have long fin extensions and are native to the

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 ...

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 ...

and Parnaíba basins, as well as rivers of 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 Guiana, British, Surinam (Dutch colo ...

. This group can be divided into two subgroups: The first is the ''G. surinamensis''

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

, which includes most species (fish in the aquarium trade often are identified as ''G. surinamensis'' itself, but they are typically other members of this complex.) The second subgroup contains ''G. argyrostictus'', ''G. gottwaldi'', ''G. grammepareius'', ''G. harreri'' and ''G. taeniopareius'', which are somewhat less peaceful and can be separated from the ''G. surinamensis'' complex by their dark stripe below the eye (however, this feature is shared with the next group). * ''G. brasiliensis'' complex (including ''G. diamantinensis'', ''G. iporangensis'', ''G. itapicuruensis'', ''G. multiocellus'', ''G. obscurus'', ''G. rufomarginatus'' and ''G. santosi'') are more robust and aggressive species found in river basins of eastern and southeastern Brazil, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina. * ''G. steindachneri'' complex (including ''G. crassilabris'' and ''G. pellegrini'' and undescribed species entering the aquarium trade from Colombia) found west of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in northern and western Colombia, northwestern Venezuela and Panama where adult males develop a distinct, bulbous red forehead.

Species

Geophagus surinamensis - Blue Reef Aquarium Newquay

There are currently 32 recognized species in this genus. * '' Geophagus abalios'' López-Fernández & Taphorn, 2004 * '' Geophagus altifrons'' Heckel, 1840 * '' Geophagus argyrostictus'' S. O. Kullander, 1991 * '' Geophagus brachybranchus'' S. O. Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 * '' Geophagus brasiliensis'' ( Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1824) (Pearl cichlid) * '' Geophagus brokopondo'' S. O. Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 * '' Geophagus camopiensis'' Pellegrin, 1903 (Oyapock eartheater) * '' Geophagus crassilabris'' Steindachner, 1876 (Panamanian eartheater) * '' Geophagus crocatus'' Hauser & López-Fernández, 2013 * '' Geophagus diamantinensis'' Mattos, W. J. E. M. Costa & A. C. A. Santos, 2015 * '' Geophagus dicrozoster'' López-Fernández & Taphorn, 2004 * '' Geophagus gottwaldi'' I. Schindler & Staeck, 2006 * '' Geophagus grammepareius'' S. O. Kullander & Taphorn, 1992 * '' Geophagus harreri'' J. P. Gosse, 1976 (Maroni eartheater) * '' Geophagus iporangensis'' Haseman, 1911 * '' Geophagus itapicuruensis'' Haseman, 1911 * '' Geophagus megasema'' Heckel, 1840 * '' Geophagus mirabilis'' Deprá, S. O. Kullander, Pavanelli & da Graça, 2014 * '' Geophagus multiocellus'' Mattos & W. J. E. M. Costa, 2018 * '' Geophagus neambi'' P. H. L. Lucinda, C. A. S. de Lucena & Assis, 2010 * '' Geophagus obscurus'' ( Castelnau, 1855) * '' Geophagus parnaibae'' Staeck & I. Schindler, 2006 * '' Geophagus pellegrini'' Regan, 1912 (Yellowhump eartheater) * '' Geophagus proximus'' ( Castelnau, 1855) * '' Geophagus pyrocephalus'' Chuctaya et al., 2022 * '' Geophagus rufomarginatus'' Mattos & W. J. E. M. Costa, 2018 * '' Geophagus santosi'' Mattos & W. J. E. M. Costa, 2018 * '' Geophagus steindachneri'' C. H. Eigenmann & Hildebrand, 1922 (Redhump eartheater) * '' Geophagus surinamensis'' ( Bloch, 1791) (Red-striped eartheater) * '' Geophagus sveni'' P. H. F. Lucinda, C. A. S. de Lucena & Assis, 2010 * '' Geophagus taeniopareius'' S. O. Kullander & Royero-L., 1992 * '' Geophagus winemilleri'' López-Fernández & Taphorn, 2004

References

{{Authority control Cichlid genera Taxa named by Johann Jakob Heckel