The Goldseam Cichlid from Peru and the Green Terror from Ecuador belong to the most popular cichlids for decades already. The splendid colours, the easy breeding and the fascinating behaviour are responsible for this popularity.
Nevertheless is was unclear for a long time how these fish should be placed systematically. Hobbyists thought that both belong to two different, though closely related species, a point of view that was adopted by most taxonomists, too. So the Goldseam was called Aequidens rivulatus and the Green Terror Aequidens sp. aff. rivulatus (see for example Aqualog Southamerican Cichlids III).
Now recent papers present the results of new investigations, which included not only morphological but also genetical methods. So it was found that the Green Terror belongs really to a new and distinct species. Along with the Goldseam and some other close relatives (Aequidens biseriatus, A. coeruleopunctatus, A. latifrons, A. pulcher, A. sapayensis) he was transferred in the new genus Andinoacara and was named Andinoacara stalsbergi. The Goldseam, however, now should be called Andinoacara rivulatus.
For our customers: A. rivulatus has code 610003, A. stalsbergi 610811 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale market.
Lexicon: Aequidens: Latin, means “with equal tooth”. This refers to the set of teeth. sp. aff.: Latin, abbreviation of “species affinis”, which means “similar species”. rivulatus: Latin, means “originating from a brook”. stalsbergi: in honour of Alf Stalsberg. Andinoacara: means “Acara from the Andes”. Acara is another genus of cichlid.
Literature: Musilová, Z., Schindler, I. und W. Staeck (2009): Description of Andinoacara stalsbergi sp. n. (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Cichlasomatini) from Pacific coastal rivers in Peru, and annotations on the phylogeny of the genus. Vertebrate Zoology 59 (2): 131-141.
Text: Frank Schäfer, photos: Aqualog archieves and Frank Schäfer
