Geophagus

Geophagus
Geophagus altifrons
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Cichlinae
Tribe: Geophagini
Subtribe: Geophagina
Genus: Geophagus
Heckel, 1840
Type species
Geophagus altifrons
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.[1][2] They are found in a wide range of freshwater habitats.[3] 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.[3] The largest species reach up to 28 cm (11 in) in standard length.[3] They are mostly kept in aquariums.[4]

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Geophagus". FishBase. October 2017 version.
  2. ^ Mattos, J.L.O., Costa, W.J.E.M. & Santos, A.C.A. (2015): Geophagus diamantinensis, a new species of the G. brasiliensis species group from Chapada Diamantina, north-eastern Brazil (Cichlidae: Geophagini). Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters, 26 (3): 209-220.
  3. ^ a b c van der Sleen, P.; J.S. Albert, eds. (2017). Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas. Princeton University Press. pp. 374–375. ISBN 978-0-691-17074-9.
  4. ^ "Geophagus sp. 'orange head'". SeriouslyFish. Retrieved 22 October 2017.