616 A Revision of the American Cichlidae. 



Acara Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., IV, 1862, p. 276 (sp.). 



Heros Heck., 1. c, p. 362 (sp.). 



Heros Giinther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., IV, 1862, p. 285 (sp.). 



Heros Steind., Beitr. Kennt. Chrom. Amazonenstr., 1875, p. 22 (sp.). 



Heros Eigenmann & Eigenmann, Prou. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, 1891, p. 68 



(redefined). 

 Hericlithys Baird & Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, p. 25, and Rept. 



U. S. Mex. Bound. Survey, p. 30 (cyanoguttatus) . 

 Hoplarchus Kaup, Wiegm. Arch., 1860, p. 128 (pentacanthus). 



§ ^QUIDENS Nov. 



Acara Eigenmann & Eigenmann, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, 1891, p. 68 (not 

 Acara of Heckel, Gill, or of Giinther). 

 Type : Acara tetramerus Heckel. 



The limited number of species available for examination do not 

 warrant a key. The species are enumerated in the Catalogue of 

 the Fresh Water Fishes of South America and the Catalogue of 

 the Fresh Water Fishes of Central America and Southern Mexico. 

 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1891 and 1893.) 



Astronotus seems to be the first name that was applied to these 

 fishes in a generic sense. Lobotes ocellatus Agassiz was the only 

 species mentioned by the author of this name (Swainson, 1839), 

 and Astronotus must be applied to ocellatus and its relatives. On 

 the next page of the same work Swainson gives the name Cichla- 

 soma to Lahrus punctatus of Bloch (= Sciaena bimaculata L.). 

 This name is to be retained for the relatives of bimaculata. 



A year after the names Astronotus and Cichlasoma were pro- 

 posed, Heckel published the name Acara (339) for a large number 

 of species, including also the type of the name Astronotus. No 

 type was indicated for Acara until Gill in 1858 restricted it by 

 exclusion of species of Astronotus and Cichlasoma to Heckel's 

 Acara crassispinis. But it has since been determined that the 

 Acara crassispinis of Heckel is a synonym of Lobotes ocellatus 

 Agassiz, which is the type of Astronotus. The name Acara is, 

 therefore, the exact synonym of Astronotus. Giinther overlooking 

 Swainson's name, used Acara for the species of Cichlasoma in his 

 catalogue. 



Heckel also (361) gave the name Heros to a number of species, 

 whose "auflfallenste Kennzeichen . . . ist die grossere Anzahl von 

 Stachelstrale in der Analflosse," the anal having 5 — 9 spines. This 

 name becomes a synonym of Cichlasoma ; if, as in the present 



