Cribroheros

The genus Cribroheros was established in 2016 after extensive DNA research among Central American cichlids. The name Cribroheros can be broken down into two parts. Cribro is derived from the Latin cribrum and means ‘to sift or sieve’. Heros is derived from the genus Heros which means ‘hero’. The name is a reference to the way these species search for food. They sieve the substrate in search of food particles.

Origin

Cribroheros is found in most of Central America, from western Panama to southern México, on both Atlantic and Pacific slopes. The alfari group is restricted to Central America south of the Río Aguán in Honduras on the Caribbean slope (the San Juan and Bocas ichthyological provinces), the rostratus group is sympatric here but extends further north to the extreme south of North America as far as the Río Papaloapán (the Usumacinta ichthyological province; also Caribbean – Atlantic slope). Cribroheros diquis and C. altifrons are distributed on the Pacific slope in the Chiriqui ichthyological province.

Groups

Within the genus, two groups can be distinguished:

alfari (Cribroheros altifrons, alfarai, diquis, rhytisma and bussingi)
rostratus (Cribroheros longimanus, rostratus, robersoni)

Reference

Diversity and evolution of the Middle American cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with revised classification – Oldřich Říčan, Lubomír Piálek, Klára Dragová & Jindřich Novák – 14-4-2016