| Mesonauta festivus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Genus: | Mesonauta |
| Species: | M. festivus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mesonauta festivus (Heckel, 1840)
| |
Mesonauta festivus, the flag cichlid, is a species of cichlid native to the Paraná, Paraguay, Madre de Dios, Guaporé, Mamoré, Jamari and Tapajós river basins in Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia.[1] It can reach a standard length of 12.1 cm (4.8 in) and is sometimes kept in aquariums.[1]
It was generally recognized as the only valid species in the genus Mesonauta until 1991 when a taxonomic review found that five species should be recognized (a sixth was described in 1998).[2][3] As a consequence aquarium specimens have generally been labelled M. festivus, but this species is seen far less often than some of its relatives, especially M. guyanae, M. insignis and M. mirificus.[4] The other species in the genus have a more northernly range than M. festivus.[2]
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Mesonauta festivus". FishBase. January 2017 version.
- ^ a b Kullander, S.O.; Silfvergrip, A.M.C. (1991). "Review of the South American cichlid genus Mesonauta Günther (Teleostei, Cichlidae) with descriptions of two new species". Revue suisse de Zoologie. 92 (2): 407–448. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.79799.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Mesonauta". FishBase. January 2017 version.
- ^ Kutty, V. (2017). "Is that a Festivum?". Retrieved 28 January 2017.