- Home
Welcome to the cichlidae information center!!
- Content
cichlid information
Catalog
Library
Documents
- Sections
- Ask Pam
ask Pam all your cichlid questions (English)
Pam Chin has been replying to cichlid questions for over twenty years. Highly respected and experienced aquarist, Pam has visited cichlid habitats around the world, and bred in her's and her husband Gary fish house hundreds of cichlid species. Besides her job, she still devotes time to help any person with a cichlid question!
- Forum
cichlid forum (English)
Cichlid talk
- Store
visit the Cichlid Room Companion store
Articles for sale Beautifully formatted and wonderfully illustrated PDF articles about all matters relative to cichlids.
Books for sale Cichlid books and DVDs for sale at the Cichlid Room Companion.
E-books for sale PDF copies of popular cichlid books offered for sale at the best price.
Trade section The master list of cichlid offers ordered by area and species name.
Focus Central America
The systematic status of Cichlasoma zonatum and Heros guttulatus
By Michi Tobler, 2005.
last updated on 11-Aug-2005
Get the full color PDF of this classic now out of print book!
Starting up right with Cichlids
Be guided by one of the world foremost experts on cichlids on how to successfuly keeping them
Sponsor the Cichlid Room Companion
Sponsor the Cichlid Room Companion, get the best cichlid related advertising and we part of this giant project!
Beginners' guide to keeping Central American Cichlids
How to successfully keep and breed the beautiful and personable cichlids from Central America
Although Kullander (2003) lists Cichlasoma zonatum Meek, 1907 (type locality: Niltepec, Oaxaca, México) as a valid species in the genus Vieja, he admits that the validity of the species is uncertain. C. zonata was synonymized with V. guttulata (type locality: Lake Amatitlan, Pacific coast of Guatemala) by Miller (1966). According to Meek, V. zonata has a steeper head profile, a higher body and a smaller mouth compared to V. guttulata.
The reason why Kullander (2003) questioned the validity of V. zonata is not straightforward to understand, since a distinct Vieja form was repeatedly reported from the type locality and adjacent areas (e.g. Stawikowski & Werner, 1998 and picture below). Moreover, doubts on the validity of the species seem more appropriate in respect of Günther's H. guttulatus, since very little is known about Vieja forms from the Lake Amatitlan area and the Pacific coast of Guatemala. New information on Vieja forms from the Pacific coast of Guatemala would therefore certainly shed light into this problem. Any conclusions if the species from Oaxaca and the Amatitlan region are indeed distinct species or if they represent geographical variants of the same species seem premature unless new information is provided.
| A female identified as Vieja zonata from La ventosa, Oaxaca, México, in the aquarium of Don Danko; Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Don Danko |
© Copyright 2005 Michi Tobler, all rights reserved
Citation:
Tobler, Michi. (August 11, 2005). "The systematic status of Cichlasoma zonatum and Heros guttulatus". The Cichlid Room Companion. Retrieved on June 19, 2013, from: http://www.cichlidae.com/section.php?id=38.
Copyright 1996-2013 Juan Miguel Artigas Azas, All Rights Reserved