Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Cichla intermedia

Cichla intermedia, the royal peacock bass, is a large species of cichlid found in the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela and Colombia.

Last revised
Jul 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
191 w
Citations
6
Source
Royal peacock bass
Caught in Cinaruco River, Apure, Venezuela
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Cichla
Species:
C. intermedia
Binomial name
Cichla intermedia
Machado-Allison, 1971

Cichla intermedia, the royal peacock bass, is a large species of cichlid found in the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela and Colombia.234

Description

C. intermedia reaches up to 55 cm (1.8 ft) in total length and 3.0 kg (6.6 lb) in weight.2 It is easily identified from other species of peacock bass, as it is the only that present a series of 8 to 9 spots running through their lateral line.

Habitat

Royal peacock bass inhabit both clear- and blackwater rivers from the Orinoco River basin.

Behavior

These fish are predatory and feed mostly on smaller fish.2

References

References

  1. Mesa-Salazar, L. (2022). "Cichla intermedia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022 e.T175978706A175978830. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T175978706A175978830.en. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Cichla intermedia". FishBase. December 2017 version.
  3. "'Royal Peacock'—Cichla intermedia". Acute Angling. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. Cichla intermedia Archived 2018-08-03 at the Wayback Machine at GBIF