Cichlidae Bonaparte 1835

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 47

Family Cichlidae Bonaparte 1835 ( Fig. 4C ). Cichlids; Mojarras, Congos, Burras, Chogorras, Tilapias

Description: Body shape quite variable, mostly moderately deep and compressed; up to 80 cm in length, usually less than 20 cm; a single nostril on each side; lateral line interrupted, usually with 20–50 scales (but number may exceed 100 in some taxa); usually 7–25 spines and 5–30 soft rays in the dorsal fin; anal fin with usually with 3–15 spines and 4–15 soft rays (Nelson et al. 2016, Angulo et al. 2021). Distribution: Freshwater and occasionally in brackish water; Central and South America (one species extending north to Texas), West Indies, Africa, Madagascar, Israel, Syria, coastal India, and Sri Lanka (Nelson et al. 2016). Thirteen genera and thirty-five species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 3; Achiridae (A), Carangidae (B), Cichlidae (C), Pomacentridae (D), Atherinopsidae (E), Rivulidae (F), Poeciliidae (G), Anablepidae (H), Belonidae (I), Hemiramphidae (J), Mugilidae (K), Gobiesocidae (L), Dactyloscopidae (M) and Lutjanidae (N). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).