iPeacock bass
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Cichlidae Genus: Cichla Species: C. orinocensis
Binomial name
Cichla orinocensis

The peacock bass, Cichla orinocensis, also commonly known as the peacock cichlid and tucunaré (too-coon-a-ray) in Brazil, is a freshwater fish native to South America (where it is known as the "pavon"), and introduced to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia deliberately by anglers as a popular game fish. In the United States, two sub-species of peacock bass, butterfly peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) and speckled peacock bass (Cichla temensis) were deliberately introduced and are quite common in South Florida waters, where they prey on other non-native invasive fish such as the oscar and spotted tilapia. The peacock bass is prized as an angling gamefish for its fighting qualities when hooked. In some of its adopted habitats, it has been identified as a potential cause for ecological imbalance. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 217 KB) Summary Juvenile peacock bass Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... Genera Apistogramma - Dwarf Cichlids Astronotus (Oscars) Boulengerochromis Cichlasoma - American Ciclids Crenicichla Pterophyllum - Freshwater Angelfish Symphysodon - Discus Teleogramma Tilapia Cichlids are a family of perciform fishes. ... Cichla is a genus of fifteen describedspecies, (and according to Kullander & Ferreira 2006, approximately 5 to 15 additional undescribed species) of Central American fish from the family Cichlidae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (or Semenanjung Malaysia in the Malay language) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

A member of the Cichlidae family, the large fish can grow to 62 cm in length, and can be identified by three rosettes on its body, as well as what resembles "peacock eyes" on the adult's tail fin, a feature which gave it its common name. This species of cichla tends to turn a bright green when in adulthood. The males have a prononced hump or bump on their foreheads once they reach adulthood, a feature not uncommon among cichlids. Genera Apistogramma - Dwarf Cichlids Astronotus (Oscars) Boulengerochromis Cichlasoma - American Ciclids Crenicichla Pterophyllum - Freshwater Angelfish Symphysodon - Discus Teleogramma Tilapia Cichlids are a family of perciform fishes. ...

In the aquarium

As aquarium fish they are voracious and predatory, eating any smaller tankmates but are not too aggressive towards fish of similar size. They will only eat live foods.

Links and References

• Florida Peacock Bass Fishing
• Cichla orinocensis (TSN 648359). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 30 January 2006.
• "Cichla orinocensis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.