Crenicichla

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Genus of fishes

title: "Crenicichla" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["crenicichla", "geophagini", "cichlid-fish-of-south-america", "cichlid-genera", "taxa-named-by-johann-jakob-heckel"] description: "Genus of fishes" topic_path: "general/crenicichla" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crenicichla" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of fishes ::

| image = Crenicichla punctata.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | image_caption = Crenicichla punctata | taxon = Crenicichla | display_parents = 3 | authority = Heckel, 1840 | type_species = Crenicichla macrophthalma | type_species_authority = Heckel, 1840 | synonyms = Batrachops Heckel, 1840

Boggiania Perugia, 1897

Crenicichla is a genus of cichlids native to South America commonly known as the pike cichlids. They are found in most tropical and subtropical freshwater habitats between the Andes and the Atlantic.

Description

The smallest species of Crenicichla are no larger than 6 - and may be referred to as "dwarf cichlids" for the aquarium hobby – though their aggressive and territorial habits make them unsuitable for novice keepers. The smallest members, 5.2 to and formerly the C. wallacii species complex was split off to Wallaciia in 2023, along with the former C. saxatilis complex which became Saxatilia and the C. lugubris complex which became Lugubria. In the same paper, one further genus was erected (Hemeraia) and the remaining species were divided into subgenera. The largest pike cichlids can grow to about 50 cm long. Like many other predatory fishes, a pike cichlid has a wide mouth and elongated body.

Distribution and ecology

The genus Crenicichla is native to freshwater in tropical and subtropical South America east of the Andes, ranging from Trinidad and the Guiana Shield (including Orinoco), through the Amazon and Río de la Plata Basins, south as far as Río Negro in Argentina. Although widespread as a group, the individual species are often restricted to a single river or river basin. They are found in a wide range of habitats, including rivers, streams, pools and lakes; some species are rheophilic.

The vast majority of pike cichlids are predatory and feed on fish, insects, and other small animals. They usually place themselves where they can stay undetected by the prey, like close to a sunken tree stem or behind a rock. This behavior, as well as the correspondingly adapted shape, which resembles that the unrelated pikes (Esocidae) of the Holarctic, gives the pike cichlids their common name. An exception is C. tapii, which is similar in general appearance to other pike cichlids, but unusual for being gregarious and feeding on periphyton.

Species

There are currently 45 recognized species in this genus:

In addition to these, several undescribed species are known.

References

References

  1. (June 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.
  2. Gottwald, J: ''[http://www.crenicichla.eu/index.htm?mid_art.htm Crenicichla arten.]''
  3. Most ''Crenicichla'' measure in the range of {{cvt. 15. -. 30. cm. in. (2024)
  4. (January 2012). "Multilocus phylogeny of Crenicichla (Teleostei: Cichlidae), with biogeography of the C. lacustris group: Species flocks as a model for sympatric speciation in rivers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  5. Piálek, L.. (2015). "Description of two new species of ''Crenicichla'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the lower Iguazú River with a taxonomic reappraisal of ''C. iguassuensis'', ''C. tesay'' and ''C. yaha''". Historia Natural.
  6. Henrique Rosa Varella. (June 2023). "Revision of the generic classification of pike cichlids using an integrative phylogenetic approach (Cichlidae: tribe Geophagini: subtribe Crenicichlina)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
  7. (23 April 2013). "''Crenicichla gillmorlisi'', a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Paraná river drainage in Paraguay". Zootaxa.
  8. Mattos, J.L.. (2014). "A new species of ''Crenicichla'' from the upper Rio das Antas basin, dos Patos lagoon system, southern Brazil (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Vertebrate Zoology.
  9. (16 October 2013). "Crenicichla taikyra (Teleostei: Cichlidae), a new species of pike cichlid from the middle río Paraná, Argentina". Zootaxa.

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crenicichlageophaginicichlid-fish-of-south-americacichlid-generataxa-named-by-johann-jakob-heckel