cichlid
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Cichlid
Any freshwater fish of the family Cichlidae. Cichlids are somewhat perchlike, but have a single nostril on each side instead of two. They are mostly predatory, and have deep, colourful bodies, flattened from side to side so that some are almost disc-shaped. Many are territorial in the breeding season and may show care of the young. There are more than 1,000 species found in South and Central America, Africa, and India.
The discus fish Symphysodon produces a skin secretion on which the young feed. Other cichlids, such as those of the genus Tilapia, brood their young in the mouth.
More than 50% of the world's cichlids are found in Africa's great lakes, and within each of these lakes 99% of the species are found nowhere else. Many species remain unclassified and Lake Malawi alone may contain up to 1,000 species.
© RM 2009. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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