Cichla ocellaris, sometimes known as the butterfly peacock bass ("peacock bass" is also used for some of its relatives

Peacock Bass

Peacock bass is the common name in English for a group of closely related species of tropical, freshwater fish of the genus Cichla, native to the Amazon River basin of South America. They also inhabit the waters of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela and parts of the United States,...

), is a very large species of cichlid

Cichlid

Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...

 from South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and a prized game fish

Game fish

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...

. It reaches 74 centimetres (29.1 in) in length. It is native to the Marowijne and Essequibo

Essequibo River

The Esequibo River is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil-Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,010 km through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean.-Geography:There are countless...

 drainages in the Guianas

The Guianas

The Guyanas or the Guianas refers to a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:* French Guiana, an overseas department of France;...

, and the Branco River

Branco River

The Rio Branco is the principal affluent of the Rio Negro from the north; it is enriched by many streams from the sierras which separate Venezuela and Guyana from Brazil. Its two upper main tributaries are the Urariquira and the Takutu...

 in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. It has also been introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 to regions outside its natural range (e.g., Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

), but some uncertainty exists over the exact identity, and at least some of the introductions may involve another Cichla

Cichla

Cichla is a genus of fifteen described species of fish from the family Cichlidae. Kullander & Ferreira described nine species in a recent paper and suggest the genus may include 5-15 other species, yet to be described. The genus includes several species valued as game fish, collectively known as...

species or hybrids. It is frequently confused with C. monoculus

Cichla monoculus

Cichla monoculus, sometimes known as the tucanare peacock bass , is a very large species of cichlid, and a prized game fish. It is native to the Amazon Basin in South America, but has also been introduced to regions outside its natural range . It reaches in length and in weight....

.