| Vieja | |
|---|---|
) | |
) | |
| Vieja maculicauda (above), Vieja melanura (below) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Tribe: | Heroini |
| Genus: | Vieja Fernández-Yépez, 1969 |
Vieja is a genus of cichlid fish from the Pacific slope of Central America and Mexico. The majority of the species are freshwater fish found in stagnant or slow-moving waters of southern Mexico to El Salvador, but V. maculicauda, which also occurs in brackish waters, ranges south to Panama.[1] They are high-bodied cichlids that reach lengths of up to 17–35 cm (6.7–13.8 in) depending on the exact species.[2] Historically, Vieja was included in Cichlasoma. Once recognized as its own genus, it first included most of the superficially similar, relatively large and high-bodied cichlids of Central America and southern Mexico, but several of these are now considered to belong to separate genera: Chuco, Cincelichthys, Isthmoheros, Kihnichthys, Maskaheros and Oscura.[1][3] Vieja feed mostly on vegetable matter, but may also take small invertebrates.[2]
Species
There are currently 8 recognized species in this genus:[2]
- Vieja bifasciata (Steindachner, 1864) (Twoband cichlid)
- Vieja breidohri (U. Werner & Stawikowski, 1987) (Angostura cichlid)
- Vieja fenestrata (Günther, 1860)
- Vieja guttulata (Günther, 1864) (Amatitlan cichlid)
- Vieja hartwegi (J. N. Taylor & R. R. Miller, 1980) (Tailbar cichlid)
- Vieja maculicauda (Regan, 1905) (Blackbelt cichlid)
- Vieja melanura (Günther, 1862)
- Vieja zonata (Meek, 1905) (Oaxaca cichlid)
References
- ^ a b McMahan, C.D., Matamoros, W.A., Piller, K.R. & Chakrabarty, P. (2015). "Taxonomy and systematics of the herichthyins (Cichlidae: Tribe Heroini), with the description of eight new Middle American Genera" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3999 (2): 211–234. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3999.2.3. PMID 26623572.
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2020). Species of Vieja in FishBase. July 2020 version.
- ^ Říčan, O.; Piálek, L.; Dragová, K. & Novák, J. (2016). "Diversity and evolution of the Middle American cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with revised classification". Vertebrate Zoology. 66 (1): 1–102.