Genus of fishes
Amatitlania is a genus of cichlid fishes native to freshwater habitats in Central America from El Salvador and Guatemala to Panama. They are fairly small cichlids, typically reaching up to in standard length depending on exact species, although captives may grow larger.
Several "Amatitlania" species are regularly kept in aquariums, especially the convict cichlids, which are aggressively territorial, but some others in the genus are less pugnacious. Some "Amatitlania" species have small ranges and are considered threatened, primarily due to habitat loss and pollution. Six are regarded as priority species in the CARES program, which aims to ensure their survival through captive breeding.
Taxonomy and species.
"Amatitlania" is closely related to "Archocentrus" and "Cryptoheros", and among others contains the convict cichlids that were previously placed in those genera. The genus was erected by Juan Schmitter-Soto in 2007 based on a study of the "Archocentrus" complex. A 2008 study led by Oldřich Říčan has suggested that all the species in "Cryptoheros" and "Amatitlania" should be moved into the genus "Hypsophrys".
There are currently 9 recognized species in "Amatitlania":
"Amatitlania" can be subdivided into a few different groups, each containing very closely related species. The convict cichlid group includes the main species itself, "A. nigrofasciata", as well as "A. coatepeque", "A. kanna" and "A. siquia". A taxonomic review found that "A. coatepeque" is indistinguishable from "A. nigrofasciata" (whose distribution entirely surrounds Lake Coatepeque, the locality of "A. coatepeque"), leading to the recommendation of regarding the former as a junior synonym of the latter. Whether the two others in this group, "A. kanna" and "A. siquia", are sufficiently distinct to be regarded as separate species from "A. nigrofasciata" remains unclear. A similar issue exists for the separation of "A. altoflava" from "A. nanoluteus".
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;