Aequidens

Aequidens is a genus belonging to the family Cichlidae. The family was founded in 1894 by Eigenmann. Quite a number of species from this area were first assigned to Aequidens but later moved to their current genus. Think of Andinoacara, Bujurquina, Cleithracara, Krobia, Laetacara, Rondonacara and Tahuantinsuyoa. Currently, the genus is home to 17 species.

Etymology

The genus name Aequidens can be broken down into two Latin words. Aequus means ‘equal’ or ‘equally’. Dens or dentis means ‘teeth’. Roughly translated, it means something like ‘fish with equal teeth’.

Origin

Most of the species in this genus are found in the Amazon basin, Rio Orinoco and the rivers of the Guianas. Only two species occur outside this area: Aequidens inhabits the Rio Paraná basin and Aequidens tetramerus is found in the Rio Parnaiba.

Species

The genus Aequidens has 17 officially described species:

Aequidens chimantanus
Aequidens diadema
Aequidens epae
Aequidens gerciliae
Aequidens mauesanus
Aequidens metae
Aequidens michaeli
Aequidens pallidus
Aequidens paloemeuensis
Aequidens patricki
Aequidens plagiozonatus
Aequidens potaroensis
Aequidens rondoni
Aequidens superomaculatum
Aequidens tetramerus
Aequidens tubicen
Aequidens viridis

There are two variants that are still waiting for their description and may also be seen as a species:

Aequidens sp. ‘atabapo’
Aequidens sp. ‘jaru’