Mayan cichlid

Mayaheros urophthalmus, also known as the Mayan cichlid or Mexican mojarra, is a species of cichlid.

Habitat

The Mayan cichlid inhabits freshwater marshes, mangrove swamps, lakes, rivers, rocky shorelines, lagoons, estuaries, and coastal islands. Adults prefer coastal lagoons and rivers, and may survive in marine conditions. It can be found in oxygen-rich areas near submerged vegetation and over muddy substrates. Despite its preference for waters with dissolved oxygen content of at least 3.5 mg/L, though, it is capable of surviving in extreme hypoxia, because it is an oxygen conformer, becoming much less active in hypoxic water, and even surviving virtual anoxia for up to two hours. Unusually, this fish has been recorded in some cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Distribution

This species can be found in Middle America. It is native to the Atlantic slope of tropical Mesoamerica, ranging from eastern Mexico southward to Nicaragua. It was first recorded from Everglades National Park, Florida, in 1983, and is now a common nonindigenous fish in South Florida.