| Etroplus | |
|---|---|
| Orange chromide, Etroplus maculatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Subfamily: | Etroplinae |
| Genus: | Etroplus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830 |
| Species | |
Etroplus is a small genus of cichlids with only three species. They are found in southern India and Sri Lanka, where they are the only native cichlids.
Their closest living relatives are Paretroplus from Madagascar. These two lineages must have separated during the Mesozoic already, as Madagascar and the Indian Plate had separated by the end of the Cretaceous (Sparks 2004).