''Teleocichla'' 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 ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cichlidae 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 ...

found in the

Tapajós The Tapajós ( ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mi ...

, Xingu,

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 2014 ...

and

Jari River The Jari River, or Jary River (), is a northern tributary of the Amazon River on the border between the states of Pará and Amapá in northeastern Brazil. It is in the most downstream regions of the Amazon Basin and borders the Guiana Highlands ...

basins, which are part of the

Amazon River Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. All species are

rheophilic A rheophile is an animal that prefers to live in fast-moving water. Examples of rheophilic animals Insects *Many aquatic insects living in riffles require current to survive. *'' Epeorus sylvicola'', a rheophilic mayfly species ( Ephemeroptera ...

, and highly elongated in shape. They generally are smaller than in length, making them some of the smallest cichlids of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. Only ''T. preta'' can grow larger, reaching about . Since restricted to areas with fast currents (such as cataracts and rapids), they are particularly vulnerable to the building of dams, and the

Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the in ...

may cause the extinction of ''T. centisquama''. Other species recognized as

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 ...

by Brazil's Ministry of the Environment are ''T. cinderella'', ''T. prionogenys'' and ''T. wajapi''.

Species

There are currently 9 recognized species in this genus, but several

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 ...

are known. * '' Teleocichla centisquama'' Zuanon & I. Sázima ( fr), 2002 (slender pike cichlid) * '' Teleocichla centrarchus'' Kullander, 1988 * '' Teleocichla cinderella'' Kullander, 1988 * '' Teleocichla gephyrogramma'' Kullander, 1988 * '' Teleocichla monogramma'' Kullander, 1988 * ''

Teleocichla preta ''Teleocichla'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cichlidae found in the Tapajós River, Tapajós, Xingu River, Xingu, Tocantins River, Tocantins and Jari River basins, which are part of the Amazon River Basin in Brazil. All spec ...

'' H. R. Varella, Zuanon, Kullander & López-Fernández, 2016 * '' Teleocichla prionogenys'' Kullander, 1988 * '' Teleocichla proselytus'' Kullander, 1988 * '' Teleocichla wajapi'' H. R. Varella & C. L. R. Moreira, 2013

References

Cichlid genera Geophagini Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Sven O. Kullander {{Cichlinae-stub