Crenicichla

Pike cichlids
Crenicichla punctata from the Pelotas River, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Superclass:	Osteichthyes
Class:	Actinopterygii
Subclass:	Neopterygii
Infraclass:	Teleostei
Superorder:	Acanthopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Subfamily:	Cichlinae
Genus:	Crenicichla Heckel, 1840
Diversity
>80 species

Crenicichla is a genus of the cichlids family (Cichlidae); it contains the pike cichlids. It is the most speciose genus of South American cichlids, including approximately 115 species as of 2009; one or two species are on average described as new each year. Pike cichlids are found in most of tropical and subtropical South America between the Andes and the Atlantic.^[1]

Description

The smallest species of Crenicichla are no larger than 3-4 inches (11 cm), and technically qualify as "dwarf cichlids" for the aquarium hobby – though their aggressive and voracious habits should let prospective keepers beware. The biggest pike cichlids can grow to more than 24 in (over 60 cm) long. Most Crenicichla measure in the range of 6-10 in (15-25 cm). Like many other predatory fishes, a pike cichlid has a wide mouth and elongated body.

Distribution and ecology

The genus Crenicichla is native to South America and lives in freshwater rivers, streams, pools and lakes in and around the Amazon region. Some of the species are also found north of the Amazon river in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, and south of the Amazon river in coastal regions as far as central Argentina and in all river systems of Uruguay.

A majority of the species lives in warm waters but there are several notable exceptions, e.g. those species living in cooler parts of Argentina and Uruguay. Pike cichlids are predatory and feed on fish or insects. They usually place themselves where they can stay undetected by the prey, like close to a sunken tree stem or behind a rock. This behaviour as well as the correspondingly adapted shape, which resembles that the unrelated pikes (Esocidae) of the Holarctic, gives the pike cichlids their common name.

Species

As of early 2010, 83 species of pike cichlids had been described:^[2]

Crenicichla acutirostris Günther, 1862 Crenicichla adspersa Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla albopunctata Pellegrin, 1904 Crenicichla alta Eigenmann, 1912Millet Crenicichla anthurus Cope, 1872 Crenicichla brasiliensis (Bloch, 1792) Crenicichla britskii Kullander, 1982 Crenicichla cametana Steindachner, 1911 Crenicichla celidochilus Casciotta, 1987 Crenicichla cincta Regan, 1905 Crenicichla compressiceps Ploeg, 1986 Crenicichla coppenamensis Ploeg, 1987 Crenicichla cyanonotus Cope, 1870 Crenicichla cyclostoma Ploeg, 1986 Crenicichla empheres Lucena, 2007 Crenicichla frenata Gill, 1858 Crenicichla gaucho Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla geayi Pellegrin, 1903 – Halfbanded Pike Cichlid Crenicichla hadrostigma Lucena, 2007 Crenicichla haroldoi Luengo & Britski, 1974 Crenicichla heckeli Ploeg, 1989 Crenicichla hemera Kullander, 1990 Crenicichla hummelincki Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla hu Pialek, Rican, Casciotta & Almiron, 2010 Crenicichla igara Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla iguapina Kullander & Lucena, 2006 Crenicichla iguassuensis Haseman, 1911 Crenicichla inpa Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla isbrueckeri Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla jaguarensis Haseman, 1911 Crenicichla jegui Ploeg, 1986 Crenicichla johanna Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla jupiaensis Britski & Luengo, 1968 Crenicichla jurubi Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla labrina (Spix & Agassiz, 1831) Crenicichla lacustris (Castelnau, 1855) Crenicichla lenticulata Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla lepidota Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla lucius Cope, 1870 Crenicichla lugubris Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla macrophthalma Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla maculata Kullander & Lucena, 2006

Crenicichla mandelburgeri Kullander, 2009 Crenicichla marmorata Pellegrin, 1904 Crenicichla menezesi Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla minuano Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla missioneira Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla mucuryna Ihering, 1914 Crenicichla multispinosa Pellegrin, 1903 Crenicichla nickeriensis Ploeg, 1987 Crenicichla niederleinii (Holmberg, 1891) Crenicichla notophthalmus Regan, 1913 Crenicichla pellegrini Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla percna Kullander, 1991 Crenicichla phaiospilus Kullander, 1991 Crenicichla prenda Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla proteus Cope, 1872 Crenicichla punctata Hensel, 1870 Crenicichla pydanielae Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla regani Ploeg, 1989 Crenicichla reticulata (Heckel, 1840) Crenicichla rosemariae Kullander, 1997 Crenicichla santosi Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) – Ringtail Pike Cichlid Crenicichla scottii (Eigenmann, 1907) Crenicichla sedentaria Kullander, 1986 Crenicichla semicincta Steindachner, 1892 Crenicichla semifasciata (Heckel, 1840) Crenicichla sipaliwini Ploeg, 1987 Crenicichla stocki Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla strigata Günther, 1862 Crenicichla sveni Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla tendybaguassu Lucena & Kullander, 1992 Crenicichla ternetzi Norman, 1926 Crenicichla tigrina Ploeg, Jegu & Ferreira, 1991 Crenicichla tingui Kullander & Lucena, 2006 Crenicichla urosema Kullander, 1990 Crenicichla vaillanti Pellegrin, 1903 Crenicichla virgatula Ploeg, 1991 Crenicichla vittata Heckel, 1840 Crenicichla wallacii Regan, 1905 Crenicichla yaha Casciotta, Almirón & Gómez, 2006 Crenicichla zebrina Montaña, López-Fernández & Taphorn, 2008

References

1. ^ Kullander & Lucena (2006)
2. ^ FishBase [2009]

• FishBase [2009]: Crenicichla species. Retrieved 2009-APR-10.
• Kullander, Sven O. & Lucena, Carlos A. (2006): A review of the species of Crenicichla (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Atlantic coastal rivers of southeastern Brazil from Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul States, with descriptions of three new species. Neotropical Ichthyology 4(2): 127–146. doi:10.1590/S1679-62252006000200001 PDF fulltext