Some hybridisation occurs (or has occurred) between the brown discus and neighbouring forms, but overall they maintain their separate evolutionary trajectories. aequifasciatus, has been adopted by the Catalog of Fishes. This taxonomy with four described valid species, S. The Xingu group currently lacks a scientific name, but it is possible that the correct name for the blue is S. aequifasciatus East Amazon downriver from Meeting of Waters), Xingu group ( S. 1 central Amazon from Purus Arch to the Meeting of Waters), brown ( S. tarzoo West Amazon drainages upriver from the Purus Arch, blue ( S. discus Rio Negro, upper Uatumã, Nhamundá, Trombetas and Abacaxis), green ( S. Their assigning of scientific names to species differed to some extent from that used by earlier authors: Heckel ( S. They recognized them as evolutionarily significant units and species. Two captive variants (orange and solid turquoise)Ī molecular study in 2011 found five main groups, which generally matched previously recognized phenotypes. aequifasciatus remains to be determined if valid it is widespread but it might just be a color morph. discus, meanwhile, seem to hybridise frequently in the wild or have diverged recently, as they lack mitochondrial DNA lineage sorting but differ in color pattern and have dissimilar chromosomal translocation patterns. tarzoo was described in 1959 and applies to the red-spotted western population. Other species and subspecies have been proposed, but morphometric data (unlike in Pterophyllum, the freshwater angelfish) varies as much between individuals from one location as across the whole range of all discus fish species. haraldi, currently considered a synonym of S. tarzoo was not described in accordance with ICZN rules and thus should be considered invalid and replaced with S. A review published in 2007 largely came to the same result, but differed in nomenclature, as the species called S. tarzoo, based on a taxonomic review published in 2006.

Lyons, 1959 (green discus)ĭiscus are fish from the genus Symphysodon, which currently includes the species S. Symphysodon discus Heckel, 1840 (red discus or Heckel discus).Symphysodon aequifasciatus Pellegrin, 1904 (blue discus or brown discus).įollowing a review published in 2006, three species are recognized by FishBase: The discus fish has attracted a cult following of collectors and has created a multimillion dollar international industry complete with shows, competitions, and reputable online breeders. They are sometimes referred to as pompadour fish. Due to their distinctive shape, calm behavior, many bright colors and patterns, and dedicated parenting techniques, discus are popular as freshwater aquarium fish, and their aquaculture in several countries in Asia (notably Thailand) is a major industry. Symphysodon (colloquially known as discus or discus fish) is a genus of cichlids native to the Amazon river basin in South America.

Blue discus