Oscura heterospila (Hubbs, 1936)
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 Montecristo cichlid (Oscura heterospila) is a species of freshwater fish from the Atlantic slope of southern Mexico and Guatemala. This cichlid occurs in lagoons, creeks and rivers with slight to moderate current in the Grijalva–Usumacinta, Candelaria, Champotón and Coatzacoalcos river drainages. It is currently recognized as the only species in its genus, but it is closely related to –and possibly should be merged into– Vieja (a genus where it also has been placed in the past). The Montecristo cichlid reaches up to 24 cm (9.4 in) in standard length.
Wikipedia contributors, Montecristo cichlid; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:27:07.178988+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oscura heterospila (Hubbs, 1936)
- Name authority
- (Hubbs, 1936)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Oscura
- 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
- genusOscura McMahan & Chakrabarty, 2015
- speciesOscura heterospila (Hubbs, 1936)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Theraps heterospila (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | synonym |
| Cichlasoma heterospilum Hubbs, 1936 Hubbs, 1936 | synonym |
| Herichthys heterospilus (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | synonym |
| Vieja heterospila (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | synonym |
| Vieja heterospilus (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | synonym |
| Cichlasoma heterospilus Hubbs, 1936 Hubbs, 1936 | synonym |
| Theraps heterospilum (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | synonym |
| Theraps heterospilus (Hubbs, 1936) (Hubbs, 1936) | 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=1525351 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:6SYVR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.