Herichthys

Herichthys is a genus of cichlid fishes native to North and Central America. Most are endemic to Mexico, but H. cyanoguttatus is also found in southern Texas (United States), and has been introduced to central Texas and Florida.

Herichthys
Herichthys cyanoguttatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cichliformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Tribe:	Heroini
Genus:	Herichthys S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854
Type species
Herichthys cyanoguttatus S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854
Synonyms[1]
Nosferatu (De la Maza-Benignos et. al, 2015)

In 2015, the genus was split in two, and seven species (H. bartoni, H. labridens, H. molango, H. pame, H. pantostictus, H. pratinus, and H. steindachneri) were moved into a new genus, Nosferatu.^[2] The validity of the move and newly-erected genus was widely disputed by other ichthyologists in the field;^[3][4][5] consequently, the split was undone, and Nosferatu is no longer recognized as a valid genus by FishBase and Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.^[1][6]

Species

As of 2024^[update], 14 species are recognized as valid by FishBase:^[6]

• Herichthys bartoni (T. H. Bean, 1892) (Barton's cichlid)
• Herichthys carpintis (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) (Pearlscale cichlid, lowland cichlid)
• Herichthys cyanoguttatus S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854 (Texas cichlid, Rio Grande cichlid)
• Herichthys deppii (Heckel, 1840) (Nautla cichlid)
• Herichthys labridens (Pellegrin, 1903) (Curve-bar cichlid)
• Herichthys minckleyi (Kornfield & J. N. Taylor, 1983) (Minkley's cichlid)
• Herichthys pame De la Maza-Benignos & Lozano-Vilano, 2013
• Herichthys pantostictus (J. N. Taylor & R. R. Miller, 1983) (Chairel cichlid)
• Herichthys steindachneri (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1899) (Steindachner's cichlid)
• Herichthys tamasopoensis Artigas Azas, 1993 (Tamasopo cichlid)
• Herichthys tepehua De la Maza-Benignos et. al, 2015

Species of disputed validity

Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes only recognizes 11 species in Herichthys as valid, and considers the following species to be synonymous with other Herichthys species:^[1]

• Herichthys molango (De la Maza-Benignos & Lozano-Vilano, 2013) — Synonym of Herichthys pantostictus
• Herichthys pratinus (De la Maza-Benignos & Lozano-Vilano, 2013) — Synonym of Herichthys pantostictus
• Herichthys teporatus (Fowler, 1903) — Synonym of Herichthys carpintis