''Paretroplus'' is a genus of fishes 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, all of which 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 ...

to lakes and rivers of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. The vast majority are

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

and restricted to the northwestern part of the island.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae).'' Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 314 :1-151 Only '' P. polyactis'' is found in the southern half of Madagascar and only ''P. polyactis'' and '' P. gymnopreopercularis'' are found in eastern drainages.Sparks, J. S. and Schelly, R. C. (2011). ''A new species of Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Etroplinae) from northeastern Madagascar, with a phylogeny and revised diagnosis for the P. damii clade.'' Zootaxa 2768: 55–68. Most are restricted to freshwater, but at least ''P. polyactis'' and '' P. maromandia'' can also be seen in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

habitats. They are more closely related to the genus ''

Etroplus ''Etroplus'' is a small genus of cichlids native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Together with '' Pseudetroplus'' (which formerly was included in ''Etroplus''), they are the only cichlids of this region. Their closest living relatives are ''Par ...

'' from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

than they are to other cichlids from Madagascar (subfamilies Paratilapiinae and

Ptychochrominae The Ptychochrominae are a subfamily in the cichlid family of fish. It includes about 14 species. They are restricted to lakes and rivers in Madagascar, and the majority are threatened. Most cichlid genera native to Madagascar are included in thi ...

). Their maximum length varies greatly depending on the exact species, ranging from in '' P. kieneri'' and '' P. gymnopreopercularis'' to almost in '' P. damii''. ''Paretroplus'' includes both relatively slender-bodied species (''P. damii'', ''P. gymnopreopercularis'', ''P. kieneri'', '' P. lamenabe'', '' P. loisellei'', '' P. nourissati'' and '' P. tsimoly'') and relatively deep-bodied species (all remaining).

Species

There are currently 13 recognized species in this genus. Additionally, an

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

from the ''P. damii''–''loisellei'' species group is known from the Ankofia River basin in northwestern Madagascar. * '' Paretroplus dambabe'' Sparks, 2002 * '' Paretroplus damii'' Bleeker, 1868 * ''

Paretroplus gymnopreopercularis ''Paretroplus gymnopreopercularis'' is a species of cichlid from the vicinity of the confluence of the Amboaboa and Mangarahara Rivers near Mandritsara in northern Madagascar.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplina ...

'' Sparks, 2008 * ''

Paretroplus kieneri The kotsovato (''Paretroplus kieneri'') is a species of cichlid from northwestern Madagascar.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichli ...

'' Arnoult, 1960 * ''

Paretroplus lamenabe ''Paretroplus lamenabe'' is a species of cichlid from the lower part of the Mahajamba RiverSparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlid ...

'' Sparks, 2008 (Big red cichlid) * '' Paretroplus loisellei'' Sparks &

Schelly The schelly (''Coregonus stigmaticus'') is a living fresh water fish of the salmon family, endemic to four lakes in the Lake District, England. Its taxonomy is disputed with some recognizing it as a distinct species and others as a variant of t ...

, 2011 * ''

Paretroplus maculatus The damba mipentina (''Paretroplus maculatus'') is a critically endangered species of cichlid fish from turbid, shallow flood-plain lakes in the Betsiboka and Ikopa River basins in northwestern Madagascar.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the ...

'' Kiener & Maugé, 1966 * '' Paretroplus maromandia'' Sparks & Reinthal, 1999 * '' Paretroplus menarambo'' Allgayer, 1996 * '' Paretroplus nourissati'' ( Allgayer, 1998) * '' Paretroplus petiti'' Pellegrin, 1929 * '' Paretroplus polyactis'' Bleeker, 1878 * '' Paretroplus tsimoly'' Stiassny, Chakrabarty & Loiselle, 2001 The genus can be divided into several

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s, and these include ''P. lamenabe'', ''P. nourissati'' and ''P. tsimoly'', which have been considered worthy of placement in their own genus ''Lamena'' (still used in their common names). On a higher level these three are part of a clade that also includes ''P. damii'' and ''P. loisellei''.

References

Etroplinae Cichlid fish of Africa * Freshwater fish genera Cichlid genera Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub