Convict cichlid

Convict cichlid
Amatitlania nigrofasciata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Subfamily:	Cichlasomatinae
Genus:	Amatitlania
Species:	A. nigrofasciata
Binomial name
Amatitlania nigrofasciata (Günther, 1867)

The convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) is a fish species from the family Cichlidae, native to Central America, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium fish and have also been the subject of numerous studies on fish behaviour.

Albert Günther originally described the species in 1867 after Frederick DuCane Godman and Osbert Salvin collected specimens in Central America. In 2007, the species was moved from the genus Archocentrus to a new genus, Amatitlania, based on Juan Schmitter-Soto's study of Archocentus species. However, a 2008 study led by Oldrich Rican proposed moving the species in Cryptoheros and Amatitlania, including Amatitlania nigrofasciata into the genus Hypsophrys.

The convict cichlid displays significant color across its range. Some of these regional variants are now considered different species. In the cichlid-keeping hobby, Rusty Wessel collected one such fish, the Honduran Red Point Cichlid (Amatitlania sp.) from a stream in Honduras. The Honduran Red Point Convict ranges from Atlantic Honduras south to Costa Rica. Other new species formerly included in A. nigrofasciata are Amatitlania coatepeque, from Lake Coatepeque in El Salvador, and Amatitlania kanna, from Panama's Atlantic coast.

The type species, A. nigrofasciata, which used to cover all these species, is restricted to the northern population ranging from El Salvador to Guatemala on the Pacific coast and from Honduras to Guatemala on the Atlantic coast.

A number of synonyms exist for this species including: Archocentrus nigrofasciatus, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, Cryptoheros nigrofasciatus and Heros nigrofasciatus.

...
Wikipedia