The Convict cichlid is a fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 from the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 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...

ae, native to Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

 fish and have also been the subject of numerous studies on fish behaviour.
Albert Günther

Albert C. L. G. Günther

Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther , was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist....

 originally described the species in 1867 after Frederick DuCane Godman

Frederick DuCane Godman

Frederick DuCane Godman D.C.L., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S., F.E.S., F.Z.S., M.R.I., F.R.H.S., M.B.O.U. was an English lepidopterist, entomologist and ornithologist....

 and Osbert Salvin

Osbert Salvin

Osbert Salvin FRS was an English naturalist, best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyclopedia on the natural history of Central America....

 collected specimens in Central America. In 2007, the species was moved from the genus Archocentrus

Archocentrus

Archocentrus is a small genus of cichlid fishes from Central America. The genus currently contains 3 species. It formerly included 7 of the species now included in the genus Cryptoheros, as well as the convict cichlid, now included in the genus Amatitlania. The Rainbow Cichlid, Archocentrus...

to a new genus, Amatitlania

Amatitlania

Amatitlania is a small genus of cichlid fishes from Central America. The genus currently contains four species. The genus is closely related to Archocentrus and Cryptoheros, and contains the convict cichlids that were previously placed in those genera. The genus was erected by Juan Schmitter-Soto...

based on Juan Schmitter-Soto's study of Archocentus species.