Cichliformes /ˈsɪklɪfɔːrmiːz/ is an order of fishes. Its members were previously classified under the order Perciformes, but now many authorities consider it to be an independent order within the subseries Ovalentaria.
| Cichliformes Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Pholidichthys leucotaenia, the convict blenny | |
| |
| Pterophyllum scalare, the freshwater angelfish, a cichlid | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Clade: | Ovalentaria |
| Order: | Cichliformes R. Betancur-R et al. 2013 |
| Type species | |
| Cichla ocellaris Bloch & Schneider, 1801
| |
The earliest fossils are known from the Eocene.[1]
Families
editThere are two families within the Cichliformes; the convict blennies are a small family consisting of a single genus and two species, while the cichlids are one of the largest vertebrate families with over 202 genera and more than 1700 species. It is molecular data which placed the two seemingly dissimilar families in the same taxon.[2]
The families are:
- Pholidichthyidae D.S. Jordan, 1896[3] (Convict blennies)
- Cichlidae Bonaparte, 1835 [4] (Cichlids)
References
edit- ^ Murray, Alison M. (2022). "Cenozoic Cichlids of Africa (Cichlidae: Pseudocrenilabrinae) With the Description of a New Species From the Oligocene of Somalia". Frontiers in Earth Science. 10. Bibcode:2022FrEaS..10.2301M. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.892301. ISSN 2296-6463.
- ^ J. S. Nelson; T. C. Grande; M. V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Wiley. p. 752. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
- ^ Bailly N, ed. (2017). "Pholidichthyidae Jordan, 1896". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ Bailly N, ed. (2015). "Cichlidae Bonaparte, 1835". FishBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 5 November 2018.