''Herichthys'' 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 ...

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 native to

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

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 ...

. Most are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

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 ...

, but '' H. cyanoguttatus'' is also found in southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

(United States), and has been introduced to central Texas and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In 2015, the genus was split in two, and seven species ('' H. bartoni'', '' H. labridens'', '' H. molango'', '' H. pame'', '' H. pantostictus'', '' H. pratinus'', and '' H. steindachneri'') were moved into a new genus, ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

''. The validity of the move and newly-erected genus was widely disputed by other

ichthyologists Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

in the field; consequently, the split was undone, and ''

'' is no longer recognized as a valid genus by

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.

and

Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

Species

, 14 species are recognized as valid by

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.

: * '' Herichthys bartoni'' (Barton's cichlid) * '' Herichthys carpintis'' (Pearlscale cichlid, lowland cichlid) * '' Herichthys cyanoguttatus'' (Texas cichlid, Rio Grande cichlid) * '' Herichthys deppii'' (Nautla cichlid) * '' Herichthys labridens'' (Curve-bar cichlid) * '' Herichthys minckleyi'' (Minkley's cichlid) * '' Herichthys pame'' * '' Herichthys pantostictus'' (Chairel cichlid) * '' Herichthys steindachneri'' (Steindachner's cichlid) * '' Herichthys tamasopoensis'' (Tamasopo cichlid) * '' Herichthys tepehua''

Species of disputed validity

only recognizes 11 species in ''Herichthys'' as valid, and considers the following species to be synonymous with other ''Herichthys'' species: * ''Herichthys molango'' — Synonym of ''Herichthys pantostictus'' * ''Herichthys pratinus'' — Synonym of ''Herichthys pantostictus'' * '' Herichthys teporatus'' — Synonym of ''Herichthys carpintis''

References

Heroini Cichlid genera Cichlid fish of North America Freshwater fish of Mexico Freshwater fish of the United States Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard {{Cichlasomatinae-stub