Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 22, 2026

Retroculus

Retroculus is a genus of cichlids native to tropical South America, where three are native to rivers in southeastern Amazon Basin in Brazil, while the final is native to rivers in Amapá (Brazil) and French Guiana. It is the sole genus included in the subfamily Retroculinae, although some authorities classify this as a tribe, Retroculini, of the subfamily Cichlinae. These rheophilic cichlids are superficially similar to Geophagus.

Last revised
Jun 22, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
203 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Retroculus
Retroculus lapidifer
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Cichlinae
Tribe: Retroculini
Kullander, 1998
Genus: Retroculus
C. H. Eigenmann & W. L. Bray, 1894
Type species
Retroculus boulengeri
Eigenmann & Bray, 1894

Retroculus is a genus of cichlids native to tropical South America, where three are native to rivers in southeastern Amazon Basin in Brazil, while the final is native to rivers in Amapá (Brazil) and French Guiana.1 It is the sole genus included in the subfamily Retroculinae, although some authorities classify this as a tribe, Retroculini, of the subfamily Cichlinae.2 These rheophilic cichlids are superficially similar to Geophagus.1

Species

Four recognized species are in this genus:3

References

References

  1. Landim, M.I., Moreira, C.R. & Figueiredo, C.A. (2015): Retroculus acherontos, a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei) from the Rio Tocantins basin. Zootaxa, 3973 (2): 369-380.
  2. Wm. Leo Smith; Prosanta Chakrabarty; John S. Sparks (2008). "Phylogeny, taxonomy, and evolution of Neotropical cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Cichlinae)" (PDF). Cladistics. 24 (5): 624–641.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Retroculus". FishBase. April 2015 version.