Cichlasomatinae: Cichlasomatini

Diagnosis

Kullander (1983) diagnosed a cichlasomine assemblage of Neotropical cichlids for species usually assigned to the genera Aequidens or Cichlasoma and having four instead of five dentary lateralis foramina. The reduced number of dentary lateralis openings also characterises Acaronia, crenicarines (with serrated preopercle), and some species of geophagines (Apistogramma species). Kullander (1983) excluded Acaronia from the cichlasomines, but the genus was included by Stiassny (1991). Both Kullander (1983) and Stiassny (1991) distinguished two subgroups which were then dealt with in more detail and named cichlasomines and heroines, respectively, by Kullander (1996), and eventually were recognized as tribes Cichlasomatini and Heroini of the subfamily Cichlasomatinae (Kullander, 1998).

Cichlasomines are diagnosed above all by having relatively large scales, in particular expressed in a regular predorsal scale arrangement (with eight scales along midline instead of more than 10 scales). Stiassny (1991) also listed egg deposition in a tight circular plaque as a synapomorphy.

The group comprises about 100 South American species.

• Acaronia
• Aequidens
• Bujurquina
• Cichlasoma
• Cleithracara
• Krobia
• Tahuantinsuyoa
• Aequidens pulcher species group
• Nannacara
• Laetacara

References

KULLANDER, S.O. 1983. A revision of the South American cichlid genus Cichlasoma. Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.
KULLANDER, S.O. 1996. Heroina isonycterina, a new genus and species of cichlid fish from Western Amazonia, with comments on cichlasomine systematics. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, 7: 149-172.
STIASSNY, M.L.J. 1991. Phylogenetic intrarelationships of the family Cichlidae: an overview. In KEENLEYSIDE, M.H.A. (ed.), Cichlid fishes. Behaviour, ecology and evolution, pp. 1-35.