Mesonauta festivus (Heckel, 1840)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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. It can reach a standard length of 12.1 cm (4.8 in) and is sometimes kept in aquariums.
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). 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. The other species in the genus have a more northernly range than M. festivus.
Wikipedia contributors, Mesonauta festivus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:11:10.409902+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mesonauta festivus (Heckel, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Heckel, 1840)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Mesonauta
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyCichlinae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusMesonauta Günther, 1862
- speciesMesonauta festivus (Heckel, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mesonauta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mesonauta acora (Castelnau, 1855) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mesonauta egregius Kullander & Silfvergrip, 1991 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mesonauta guyanae Schindler, 1998 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mesonauta insignis (Heckel, 1840) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mesonauta mirificus Kullander & Silfvergrip, 1991 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Mesonauta festiva (Heckel, 1840) (Heckel, 1840) | synonym |
| Mesonauta festivum (Heckel, 1840) (Heckel, 1840) | synonym |
| Heros festivus Heckel, 1840 Heckel, 1840 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1022351 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:424NN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.