imported>Dotyoyo: ichthyologyst→ichthyologist - Correct typos in one click

2023-04-25T02:41:51Z

ichthyologyst→ichthyologist - Correct typos in one click

New page

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Acarichthys heckeli.JPG
| image_caption = adult
| parent_authority = [[Carl H. Eigenmann|C. H. Eigenmann]], 1912
| taxon = Acarichthys heckelii
| display_parents = 3
| authority = ([[Johannes Peter Müller|J. P. Müller]] & [[Franz Hermann Troschel|Troschel]], 1849)
| synonyms = *''Acara heckelii'' Müller & Troschel, 1849
*''Geophagus thayeri'' [[Franz Steindachner|Steindachner]], 1875
*''Acara subocularis'' [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1878
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = FishBase>{{FishBase|Acarichthys|heckelii|month=June|year=2018}}</ref>
}}

The '''threadfin acara''' ('''''Acarichthys heckelii'''''), also known as '''Heckel's thread-finned acara''', is a [[South America]]n species of [[cichlid]] fish. It is the [[Monotypic|only member]] of the genus '''''Acarichthys''''' and is native to rivers in the [[Amazon basin|Amazon]] and [[Essequibo River|Essequibo]] basins in tropical South America, and has become established in southeastern Asia. It is sometimes found in the aquarium trade.

==Taxonomy and etymology==
The threadfin acara was first described in 1848 by the German zoologists [[Johannes Peter Müller|J. P. Müller]] and [[Franz Hermann Troschel|Troschel]] as ''Acara heckelii'', and in 1912 was placed by [[Carl H. Eigenmann|Eigenmann]] in the monotypic genus ''Acarichthys''.<ref name=Leibel>{{cite web |url=http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=59 |title=Heckel's Thread-Finned Acara ''Acarichthys heckelii'' (Mueller and Troschel 1848) |author=Leibel, Wayne |date=15 August 1997 |work=The Cichlid Room Companion |publisher= |access-date=27 July 2016}}</ref> The specific name honours the ichthyologist [[Johann Jakob Heckel]], director of the [[Vienna Museum of Natural History]], who studied and catalogued fish sent to him by collectors.<ref>[http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/en/research/_zoology_vertebrates/fish_collection_/history Naturhistorisches Museum Wien] History of the Fish Collection</ref> Its common name is the "threadfin acara", referring to the elongated, free rays at the posterior end of the dorsal fin.<ref name=Tan>{{cite journal |author1=Tan, H.H. |author2=Lim, K.K.P. |year=2008 |title=''Acarichthys heckelii'' (Müller & Troschel), an introduced cichlid fish in Singapore |journal=Nature in Singapore |volume=2008 |issue=1 |pages=129–133 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242318524 }}</ref> The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]] honours the [[Austria]]n [[Ichthyology|ichthyologist]] [[Johann Jakob Heckel]] (1790-1857), one of the pioneers in the study of cichlids.<ref name = ETYFish>{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/cichlidae7/ | title = Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily CICHLINAE (d-w) | access-date= 17 November 2018 | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | name-list-style = amp | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara | date = 22 September 2018}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Acarichthys heckelii - subadulte 03.jpg|thumb|Subadult]]
This is a laterally-compressed, deep-bodied fish with a brownish-silver upper body, silvery flanks and a pale belly. There is a vertical black streak below the eye, a black blotch on the front few rays of the dorsal fin and a small black spot on the flanks below the centre of the dorsal fin.<ref name="Tan" />

==Distribution==
The species is native to the Amazon and Essequibo basins in tropical South America. It has been introduced to Singapore and other parts of southeast Asia, perhaps having originated from aquaculture or aquaria. It is one of about ten species of South American cichlid to have become established in this part of Asia.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ng, Peter K.L.|author2=Corlett, Richard|author3=Tan, Hugh T.W.|title=Singapore Biodiversity: An Encyclopedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1oW0EquxDAC&pg=PA264|year=2011|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=978-981-4260-08-4 |page=264}}</ref>
==Ecology==
''A. heckelii'' is a benthic feeder, sifting through sand or mud on the river bed and feeding on the invertebrates present. The male fish has a harem of female fish.<ref name=Tan/> The eggs are laid in a breeding chamber that has been dug in the bottom by the female and a chamber has one or several long entrance tunnels. The eggs are cared for by the female, and the male stays outside and defends the entrances.<ref name=Sleen2017>{{cite book | editor1=van der Sleen, P. | editor2=J.S. Albert | year=2017 | title=Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas | publisher=Princeton University Press | page=365 | isbn=978-0691170749 }}</ref> After hatching, both parents care for the young and defend them, and the juveniles remain gregarious when independent of their parents.<ref name=Tan/>

==See also==
* [[List of freshwater aquarium fish species]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1577312}}

[[Category:Geophagini]]
[[Category:Fish of South America]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1849]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johannes Peter Müller]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Franz Hermann Troschel]]

[[es:Acarichthys]]

Threadfin acara - Revision history

imported>Dotyoyo: ichthyologyst→ichthyologist - Correct typos in one click