Aequidens tetramerus (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
The saddle cichlid (Aequidens tetramerus) is a species of cichlid from the tribe Cichlasomatini, part of the subfamily Cichlasomatinae from South America. It is the type species of the genus Aequidens. It is reasonably common in the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Saddle cichlid; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:57:13.681386+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aequidens tetramerus (Heckel, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Heckel, 1840)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Aequidens
- 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
- genusAequidens Eigenmann & Bray, 1894
- speciesAequidens tetramerus (Heckel, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aequidens. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Aequidens mauesanus Kullander, 1997 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens michaeli Kullander, 1995 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens patricki Kullander, 1984 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens tubicen Kullander & Ferreira, 1991 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens metae Eigenmann, 1922 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens plagiozonatus Kullander, 1984 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens potaroensis Eigenmann, 1912 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens rondoni (Miranda Ribeiro, 1918) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens chimantanus Inger, 1956 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens paloemeuensis Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens pallidus (Heckel, 1840) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aequidens viridis (Heckel, 1840) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Chromys uniocellata Castelnau, 1855 Castelnau, 1855 | synonym |
| Acara tetramerus Heckel, 1840 Heckel, 1840 | synonym |
| Aequidens stollei Miranda Ribeiro, 1918 Miranda Ribeiro, 1918 | synonym |
| Acaronia trimaculata Allen, 1942 Allen, 1942 | 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=1014716 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:64Z65. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.