Etroplus

Etroplus
Etroplus suratensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Etroplinae
Genus: Etroplus
G. Cuvier, 1830
Type species
Etroplus meleagris
G. Cuvier, 1830

Etroplus is a small genus of cichlids native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Together with Pseudetroplus (which formerly was included in Etroplus), they are the only cichlids of this region.[1]

Their closest living relatives are Paretroplus from Madagascar. These two lineages must have separated during the Mesozoic already, as Madagascar and the Indian Plate had separated by the end of the Cretaceous.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pethiyagoda2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sparks, J.S. (2004): Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the Malagasy and South Asian cichlids (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 30 (3): 599–614.