Rocio is a small genus of cichlid freshwater fishes from southern Mexico and northern Central America.[1]
| Rocio | |
|---|---|
| |
| Jack Dempsey (R. octofasciata) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Tribe: | Heroini |
| Genus: | Rocio Schmitter-Soto, 2007 |
| Type species | |
| Heros octofasciatus Regan, 1903
| |
Species edit
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[1][2]
- Rocio gemmata Contreras-Balderas & Schmitter-Soto, 2007 – from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
- Rocio ocotal Schmitter-Soto, 2007 – from Lake Ocotal, Mexico
- Rocio octofasciata (Regan, 1903) (Jack Dempsey) – from Honduras to southern Mexico
- Rocio spinosissima (Vaillant & Pellegrin, 1902) – Lake Izabal basin, Guatemala
These have historically been placed in the genera Cichlasoma or Heros, but they are quite distinct.[1] R. gemmata and R. ocotal were typically regarded as populations of the closely related R. octofasciata until 2007; a review in 2018 recommended that R. gemmata should be considered a synonym of R. octofasciata,[3] whereas a review in 2021 argued that they should be recognized as separate.[4]
Etymology edit
The genus name is derived from name of J. J. Schmitter-Soto's wife. Meaning dew of the morning in Spanish, this ties in with the colorful spotting that is found in members of this genus.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c Říčan, O.; Piálek, L.; Dragová, K. & Novák, J. (2016). "Diversity and evolution of the Middle American cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with revised classification" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 66 (1): 1–102. doi:10.3897/vz.66.e31534. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Species of Rocio in FishBase. January 2019 version.
- ^ Artigas Azas, Juan Miguel (2018). "Rocio gemmata Contreras-Balderas & Schmitter-Soto, 2007: a subjective junior synonym of R. octofasciata". Cichlid News. 27: 22–27.
- ^ Schmitter-Soto, Juan J. (2021). "Validity of Rocio gemmata (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. 4991 (1): 195–200. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4991.1.13. PMID 34186725. S2CID 235685253.