According to Axelrod's "Lexicon of Cichlids," carpinte closely resembles
cyannoguttatum "but has fewer though larger spots. Since these two species
do not overlap in range, it is not impossible they are mere morphs both
belonging to cyanoguttatus, but for aquarists a different name is more
useful....They readily cross with cyanoguttatus and produce offspring
intermediate between the two parents as far as markings are concerned" (pp.
571-572).
According to Staeck & Linke's "American Cichlids II: Large Cichlids,"
cyanoguttatus differ from carpintis (not carpinte) "in having much smaller
glossy spots and its males lack the distinctive hump on the forehead" (p.
115). The common name for carpintis is "pearl cichlid."
I think the changing of carpintis to carpinte (and cyannoguttatum to
cyanoguttatus) may reflect the gender change when the species is considered
to be in Cichlasoma or Herichthys. According to my sneek peak of the new AFS
names list, Cichlasoma will be retained because the monophyly of Herichthys
has yet to be established.
Chris Scharpf
Baltimore
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