Astatheros macracanthus (Günther, 1864)
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
Astatheros macracanthus, the blackthroat cichlid, is a species of cichlid freshwater fish from southern Mexico and northern Central America. It is the only recognized species in the genus Astatheros, but it was originally described in Heros, then for a long period included in Cichlasoma and until 2008 it was typically included in Amphilophus. Several other species have also been placed in Astatheros in the past, but they are now generally placed in Cribroheros. This blackthroat cichlid is omnivorous and reaches up to 25 cm (10 in) in standard length.
Wikipedia contributors, Astatheros; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:04:37.668767+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Astatheros macracanthus (Günther, 1864)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1864)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Astatheros
- 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
- genusAstatheros Pellegrin, 1904
- speciesAstatheros macracanthus (Günther, 1864)
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 |
|---|---|
| Herichthys guija (Hildebrand, 1934) (Hildebrand, 1934) | synonym |
| Cichlasoma guija Hildebrand, 1934 Hildebrand, 1934 | synonym |
| Cichlasoma evermanni Meek, 1904 Meek, 1904 | synonym |
| Heros heterodontus Vaillant & Pellegrin, 1902 Vaillant & Pellegrin, 1902 | synonym |
| Heros macracanthus Günther, 1864 Günther, 1864 | synonym |
| Cichlasoma macracanthum (Günther, 1864) (Günther, 1864) | synonym |
| Amphilophus macracanthus (Günther, 1864) (Günther, 1864) | 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=1259750 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:HNCY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.