Amphilophus istlanus

[Stanzzzz7]

Keep hearing more and more stories of natural hybrids.
This one is new to me though.
Theres a lot of people saying veija guttulatus, zonatus and species coatzacoalas may be part of the same fish ie natural hybrids or just regional variants of the same species.
Macracanthus is another that has natural hybrids mixed with veija.

 

[cichlidfish]

Keep hearing more and more stories of natural hybrids.
This one is new to me though.
Theres a lot of people saying veija guttulatus, zonatus and species coatzacoalas may be part of the same fish ie natural hybrids or just regional variants of the same species.
Macracanthus is another that has natural hybrids mixed with veija.

It happens, but not as common as you would think. It takes a very long time to evolve as a new species.
But I wonder if a lot hybridization now comes from the pressure humans put on the environment from over fishing to destruction of habitat. Cichlids usually will hybridize in the absence of their own kind.
I wonder on what the exact time frame is that a new species evolves and can reproduce to create a population. Could be why the natural hybrids are very hard to find.

 

[dan518]

I may have worded this badly at the start, I think you would have to class istlanus as a species as it breeds with its own, but it started out a a hybrid of amphilophus trimac and mayaheros beani.

 

[dan518]

Also I don't know the time line of when the hybridisation occurred, I know istlanus was first described in 1899, but the initial hybridisation could have happened thousands of years before that

 

[cichlidfish]

Also I don't know the time line of when the hybridisation occurred, I know istlanus was first described in 1899, but the initial hybridisation could have happened thousands of years before that

I bet you are correct.

I am really interested in the orgins of CA cichlids. It seems to be more complex or not enough research like say African cichlids.

 

[lunsforj]

Just to be clear, are we talking about a back crossing hybrid or all 3 species sharing a common ancestor? Does istlanum even share it's distribution with the other two species?

 

[lunsforj]

Also, how does one differentiate the genetic marker that would point to hybridization as opposed to one that would indicate a shared species origin?

 

[dan518]

Also, how does one differentiate the genetic marker that would point to hybridization as opposed to one that would indicate a shared species origin?

the piece I read said it was a hybrid from trimac and beani and no they don't share a common ancestry.
not a expert on this, from what he said the nuclear dna points at it being related to trimacs its mitochondrial dna points at it being related to beani.

 

[dan518]

Just to be clear, are we talking about a back crossing hybrid or all 3 species sharing a common ancestor? Does istlanum even share it's distribution with the other two species?

yes istlanum comes from where the other two species natural range meets according to the map shown

 

[Cyberman]

I don't see the similarities at all between Beani and Trimaculatus with Istlanus... For a start both Trimaculatus and Beani both have RED EYES... Istlanus has Blue.... Neither Beani or Trimaculatus have the blue spangling of Istlanus either. If anyone wants to argue Istlanus is a hybrid then they're onto a sticky wicket, here... It can be argued ALL CICHLIDS were originally Hybrids