The Journal of the American Cichlid Association.
Published here with the author's permission.
Heckel created the genus Crenicichla in 1840 for the species macrophthalma. In fact a number of future Crenicichla species had already been described in various incorrect genera (eg. Cr. Saxatilis as Perca saxatilis by Linnaeus in 1758, as Sparus rufescens by Gronow in 1763 and as Cychla rutilans by Schomburgk in 1843). What the pike cichlids all have in common is a serrated or denticulated preopercle, that is, there are little teeth on the margin of the first (pre-) gill cover. This was Regan's (1905), the first ichthyologist to deal seriously with these fishes, chief diagnostic for the genus. In practice, the extent of this preopercle crenation (ie. scalloping) is variable: some species have it and some do not and some show intraspecific variation in the extent of denticulation. Interestingly, despite the similarity in body plan to the checkerboard cichlds (Crenicara and Dicrossus species) and a shared serrated preopercle, the pike cichlids are believed to be most closely related to members of the genus Cichla (eg. C. ocellaris, C. temensis, the Lukanani or Tucunare, revered by sport fisherman (Stiassny, 1991).
PIKE CICHLIDS |
Virtually all pike cichlids are ambush, gape and such piscivores. |
A second genus of the pike-like cichlids, Batrachops, was designated by Heckel (1840) in the same monograph. In addition to having a fuller, more salami like body structure and blunt snout, members of the genus Batrachops had non-depressible oral teeth arranged in 2-3 rows in the mouth whereas Crenicichla had as many as 8 rows of teeth in each jaw, with the inner row depressible in the backwards direction. This anatomical adaptation allows pikes to grasp and swallow other fish whole: they do not chew their prey. Virtually all pike cichlids are ambush, gape and such piscivores. The name Batrachops means frog-like in appearance and aptly describes fattened, bug-eyed look of the species populating the genus. Other students of these fish felt this second genus spurious and synonymized it with Crenicichla, most recently Sven Kullander (1986). I, for one, protest for aesthetic reasons alone! Batrachops is a lovely and apt name for these salami-pikes.
A third and more recent genus, Teleocichla, was erected by Kullander (1988) to hold six species of dwarf, rheophilic pike-like cichlids captured initially from amongst the rocks in the rapids of the Rio Tocantins, Tapajos and Xingu. Lee Finley reviewed this paper in Buntbarsche Bulletin 140: Cichlidist s Library. Kullander (1990) has suggested that the valid species ranks will swell shortly to ten.
The pike cichlids fall, more or less, into several natural groupings which are helpful to aquarists wishing to identify and maintain particular species. There is regrettably, a paucity of hobby information concerning pike cichlids. The best photo resource for identification remains Stawikowski and Werner s (1988) Die Buntbarsche der Neuen Welt: Sudamerika, Reimar-Hobbing Verlag, West Germany. It is available from the Aquatic Book Shop, P.O. Box 2150, Shingle Springs, CA 95682. Phone: (916) 622-7547. In addition, Frank Warzel's articles on new pikes in Koning's Cichlids Yearbooks are useful. One earlier, and excellent introduction is Uwe Werner's four part series that appeared in TFH (Oct., Nov., Dec., 1982, Jan 1983: Vol. 31 #2-5). Aquarium Fish Magazine (AFM) will be running my multi-part series on pike cichlids sometime in 1993. In addition, the following Buntbarsche Bulletin articles may prove useful:
References from Buntbarsche Bulletin |
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Griffiths, R., Crenicichla in the Aquarium 52:20. Kullander, S.O., A Cichlid from patagonia (Crenicichla lacustris) 85: 13. Longfellow, J., Spawning the Pike cichlid (Crenicichla lepidota) 22:7 Stoner, M., Sequel to Crenicichla in the Aquarium. 54:21.
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