Kingdom Animalia Family Cichlidae Scientific name Cichla Phylum Chordata | Order Perciformes Subfamily Cichlinae Higher classification Cichlid Rank Genus | |
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Lower classifications Cichla temensis, Cichla kelberi, Cichla orinocensis, Cichla ocellaris | ||
Cichla ocellaris
Cichla is a genus of cichlids native to freshwater habitats in tropical South America, but a few species have been introduced to regions outside their native range. The genus includes several species valued as game fish, collectively known as peacock bass, and is also of interest to cichlid-keeping aquarists. Cichla species are amongst the largest cichlids, with one species, C. temensis, growing to about 1 m (3 ft 3 in).
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Species
Currently, 15 recognized species are in this genus:
Extensive molecular data have cast doubt on these designations, however. Aside from limited hybridization among many species, in both natural and human-altered environments, several species do not show sufficient differentiation to imply reproductive isolation and/or a history of independent evolution. Among the species implicated as probable "good" species were C. intermedia, C. orinocensis, C. temensis, C. melaniae, C. mirianae, and C. piquiti. The other species were suggested to be part of two widespread metaspecies or species complexes, called C. pinima sensu lato (including C. jariina, C. thyrorus, and C. vazzoleri) and C. ocellaris sensu lato (including C. monoculus, C. nigromaculata, C. pleiozona, and C. kelberi).
