Laetacara

Laetacara araguaiae

Laetacara is a genus of South American cichlids. The distribution of the genus extends from the upper Orinoco over the Amazon basin to the middle basin of the Río Paraguay and the Río Paraná. The genus name is derived from "laetus" (Latin for happy ) and "Acara ", the Guaraní name for cichlids and refers to the appearance of the smile, the dark, slanting upward-pointing dashes at the mouth angles produce.

Features

Laetacara species are rather small cichlids and reach body lengths of 6 to 12 cm. Females are slightly smaller. Characteristic features of the genus are six pores of the sensory system on the Praeoperculare, four pores on each side of lower jaw, a tiny, in collagen fibers embedded Interarcual cartilage ( cartilage of the first Epibranchiale (bone support of the upper branch of the first gill arch ) with the Infrapharyngobranchial - bone the second branchial arch connects ) and a slim first Epibranchiale without ventral flange. They also have the following combination of features: a deep notch in the dorsal margin of the anterior Ceratohyale ( located at the rear Branchiostegalstrahlen ), two horizontally arranged and, more rarely two, vertically aligned scales on the Praeoperculum, only two are arranged in a series of scales on the " cheek " ( cheek ) and the absence of the back, side lying joint between the screen and palatine bone.

System

The genus was erected in 1986 by the Swedish ichthyologist Sven O. Kullander. The previously known species were originally attributed Aequidens and formed within this genus the Aequidens dorsigera - type group. How Aequidens heard Laetacara within the New World cichlids ( Cichlinae ) for Tribus Cichlasomatini.

Species

So far, seven species have been described:

  • Laetacara araguaiae Ottoni & Costa, 2009
  • Laetacara curviceps ( Ahl, 1923)
  • Laetacara dorsigera ( Heckel, 1840)
  • Laetacara flamannellus Ottoni, Bragança, Amorim & Gama 2012
  • Laetacara flavilabris ( Cope, 1870) ( type species )
  • Laetacara fulvipinnis Staeck & Schindler, 2007
  • Laetacara thayeri ( Steindachner, 1875)

Reproduction

Similar Aequidens are the Laetacara species substrate spawners.

Ernst Ahl Franz Steindachner FishBase
495278
de