Pelvicachromis etymology

[mummymonkey]

Does anyone know the etymology of the generic name Pelvicachromis? Seems to be some conflicting info.

I always thought Pelvic = belly and chromis = coloured but fishbase is rather confusing:

Latin, pelvica, -ae = bassin + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).


What's a bassin?

 

[aquaticclarity]

"Pelvic" is referring to the pelvic (AKA ventral) fins

One of the defining characteristics of the genus Pelvicachromis is the "squared off" tips of the pelvic fin in females.

"chromis" is fish

Jeff

 

[Mike Wise]

I don't think that Thys explained his name "Pelvicachromis", but I assume it refers to the colorful abdomen - "pelvica" and that the fish is a cichlid - "chromis". The family cichilidae was originally put together with the marine genus Chromis (early 19th century). Many African cichlid genera names use the old generic name Chromis in their name, refering back to this old name. In South America, many cichlid genera use the name 'acara' in the same way.

 

[tjudy]

Ihave looked into this before, and there is no consistant explanation that I have found. Though the reference to the pelvic (ventral) fins is possible since it is one of the sexually dimorphic features in all the species, I think that the name doe snot really indicate that. I lean toward the idea that is refers to the coloration ont e female's belly region. We may never know. When the upcoming revision is published, there will likely be a reference to etymology, but it will be the new author's explanation of the original name.