| Pike cichlids | |
|---|---|
| Crenicichla punctata from the Pelotas River, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Superclass: | Osteichthyes |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Subclass: | Neopterygii |
| Infraclass: | Teleostei |
| Superorder: | Acanthopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Subfamily: | Cichlinae |
| Genus: | Crenicichla Heckel, 1840 |
| Diversity | |
| >80 species | |
Crenicichla is a genus of the cichlids family (Cichlidae); it contains the pike cichlids. It is the most speciose genus of South American cichlids, including approximately 115 species as of 2009; one or two species are on average described as new each year. Pike cichlids are found in most of tropical and subtropical South America between the Andes and the Atlantic.[1]
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The smallest species of Crenicichla are no larger than 3-4 inches (11 cm), and technically qualify as "dwarf cichlids" for the aquarium hobby – though their aggressive and voracious habits should let prospective keepers beware. The biggest pike cichlids can grow to more than 24 in (over 60 cm) long. Most Crenicichla measure in the range of 6-10 in (15-25 cm). Like many other predatory fishes, a pike cichlid has a wide mouth and elongated body.
The genus Crenicichla is native to South America and lives in freshwater rivers, streams, pools and lakes in and around the Amazon region. Some of the species are also found north of the Amazon river in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, and south of the Amazon river in coastal regions as far as central Argentina and in all river systems of Uruguay.
A majority of the species lives in warm waters but there are several notable exceptions, e.g. those species living in cooler parts of Argentina and Uruguay. Pike cichlids are predatory and feed on fish or insects. They usually place themselves where they can stay undetected by the prey, like close to a sunken tree stem or behind a rock. This behaviour as well as the correspondingly adapted shape, which resembles that the unrelated pikes (Esocidae) of the Holarctic, gives the pike cichlids their common name.
As of early 2010, 83 species of pike cichlids had been described:[2]
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