Desert cichlids

Tough fishes for harsh habitats

Abstract

Cichlids were given their name by the French zoologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857), a nephew of Napoleon, who borrowed the term from the Greek κίχλη (kichle), a word that in origin had the broad meaning of “wrasse” (a fish) or “thrush” (a bird). In a sense, the wide connotation of this Greek word is particularly appropriate to define these fish: indeed, although some cichlids display peculiar and highly specialized body shapes (discoid, for example), their typical body morphology is that of a generic fish, one that a schoolchild would draw if asked to depict a fish. In addition, their wide diffusion in the subtropical and tropical fresh waters of three continents (Africa, the Americas and Asia) has led to them being important throughout the world in fishery markets and for human nutrition, myth and culture since the beginning of our history. Thus, cichlids somewhat embody the quintessential fish.