Geophagus

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Genus of fishes

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

::summary Genus of fishes ::

| image = Cichlidae - Geophagus altifrons.JPG | image_caption = Geophagus altifrons | taxon = Geophagus | display_parents = 3 | authority = Heckel, 1840 | type_species = Geophagus altifrons | type_species_authority = Heckel, 1840

Geophagus is a genus of cichlids that mainly live in South America as far south as Argentina and Uruguay, but a single species, G. crassilabris is from Panama. They are found in a wide range of freshwater habitats. They are part of a group popularly known as eartheaters and mostly feed by picking up mouthfuls of sediment to sift out food items such as invertebrates, plant material and detritus.

As an invasive species

Geophagus “surinamensis” was an invasive species in Malaysia, recently found in Putrajaya, the populations are now controlled by giant snakeheads.

Taxonomy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Geophagus_surinamensis1.jpg" caption="complex]], a member of ''Geophagus sensu stricto''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Geophagus_brasiliensis.jpg" caption="Young ''[[Geophagus brasiliensis]]''"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Geophagus_steindachneri_in_Tropicarium-Oceanarium_Budapest.jpg" caption="''[[Geophagus steindachneri]]''"] ::

Some cichlids previously included in this genus have been reallocated to Biotodoma, Gymnogeophagus or Satanoperca. Even with these as separate genera, Geophagus is currently polyphyletic and in need of further taxonomic revision. There are three main groups:

  • Geophagus sensu stricto are mostly relatively peaceful, often have long fin extensions and are native to the Amazon, Orinoco and Parnaíba basins, as well as rivers of the Guianas. This group can be divided into two subgroups: The first is the G. surinamensis complex, which includes most species (fish in the aquarium trade often are identified as G. surinamensis itself, but they are typically other members of this complex.) The second subgroup contains G. argyrostictus, G. gottwaldi, G. grammepareius, G. harreri and G. taeniopareius, which are somewhat less peaceful and can be separated from the G. surinamensis complex by their dark stripe below the eye (however, this feature is shared with the next group).
  • G. brasiliensis complex (including G. diamantinensis, G. iporangensis, G. itapicuruensis, G. multiocellus, G. obscurus, G. rufomarginatus and G. santosi) are more robust and aggressive species found in river basins of eastern and southeastern Brazil, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina.
  • G. steindachneri complex (including G. crassilabris and G. pellegrini and undescribed species entering the aquarium trade from Colombia) found west of the Andes in northern and western Colombia, northwestern Venezuela and Panama where adult males develop a distinct, bulbous red forehead.

Species

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Geophagus_surinamensis_-_Blue_Reef_Aquarium_Newquay.jpg" caption="''Geophagus pyrocephalus'' also known as ''Geophagus'' sp. "orange head" from the [[Tapajós River]]."] ::

There are currently 33 recognized species in this genus.

References

References

  1. {{FishBase genus. (2017)
  2. Mattos, J.L.O.. (2015). "''Geophagus diamantinensis'', a new species of the ''G. brasiliensis'' species group from Chapada Diamantina, north-eastern Brazil (Cichlidae: Geophagini)". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters.
  3. (2017). "Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas". Princeton University Press.
  4. "Geophagus sp. 'orange head'". SeriouslyFish.
  5. Kullander, S.O.. (1986). "Cichlid fishes of the Amazon River drainage of Peru". Swedish Museum of Natural History.
  6. (2005). "Morphology, molecules, and character congruence in the phylogeny of South American geophagine cichlids (Perciformes, Labroidei)". Zoologica Scripta.
  7. (2018). "Three new species of the 'Geophagus' brasiliensis species group from the northeast Brazil (Cichlidae, Geophagini)". Zoosystematics and Evolution.
  8. {{Cof genus |genus=Geophagus |access-date=15 November 2025}}
  9. Hauser, F.E.. (2013). "''Geophagus crocatus'', a new species of geophagine cichlid from the Berbice River, Guyana, South America (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa.
  10. Schindler, I.. (2006). "''Geophagus gottwaldi'' sp. n. - a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae) from the drainage of the upper rio Orinoco in Venezuela". Zoologische Abhandlungen.
  11. (22 September 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily CICHLINAE (d-w)". Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.
  12. Deprá, G.C.. (2014). "A new colorful species of ''Geophagus'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae), endemic to the rio Aripuanã in the Amazon basin of Brazil". Neotropical Ichthyology.
  13. Staeck, W.. (2006). "''Geophagus parnaibae'' sp. n. - a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae) from the rio Parnaiba basin, Brazil". Zoologische Abhandlungen.
  14. Junior Chuctaya. (October 2022). "A new species of ''Geophagus'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae): Naming a cichlid species widely known in the aquarium hobby as 'Geophagus sp. Tapajos red head'". Journal of Fish Biology.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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