About Herichthys carpintis (Jordan & Snyder, 1899)
Herichthys carpintis, commonly called the lowland cichlid or pearlscale cichlid, is a species of Neotropical cichlid. It was first formally described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1899, under the original scientific name Neetroplus carpintis. This species has both native and invasive populations located in North America. Herichthys carpintis is widely distributed; it likely evolved in the lakes and rivers of coastal regions and underwent population expansion during the Pleistocene. It is endemic to eastern Mexico, where it lives in the Pánuco River drainage and the Soto La Marina River in northeastern Mexico. Its specific name references its type locality, Laguna del Carpinte, located near Tampico in Tamaulipas. Today, the lowland cichlid has established invasive populations in Louisiana. Several life history traits, including parental care, maturation timing, spawning patterns, generation length and behavior, are linked to this species' invasive potential. In general, successfully invasive fish have high fecundity, short generation times, and opportunistic traits, such as small eggs that develop quickly and early maturation. In contrast, cichlids as a group are known for providing substantial parental care and investing in a relatively small number of offspring; they are also territorial, and have flexible plasticity in both maturation and feeding. The lowland cichlid is euryhaline, which means it has a high tolerance for variable salinity levels. It lives in coastal areas where salinity can reach up to 17 parts per thousand, roughly half the average salinity of ocean water. This species may use coastal brackish waters to expand its range, and researchers suggest it originally colonized inland areas moving outward from the coastline. Researchers predict the lowland cichlid will continue expanding its range along the Gulf Coast, while also moving further inland into freshwater sites.
