Captive Breeding Observations Support the Validity of a Recently Described Cichlid Species in Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua

—Amphilophus citrinellus, A. zaliosus, and a recently described species, A. astorquii, were held in a large aquarium and allowed to mate. The species mated assortatively. Observations were made of the breeding fish and their offspring, and of additional fish raised in the laboratory, including A. labiatus. Amphilophus astorquii were distinguishable from A. zaliosus by having a less elongate lateral spot, deeper body, and a more rounded snout, and were distinct from A. citrinellus and A. labiatus by having black breeding coloration, a continuous lateral stripe, a more elongate lateral spot, and a shallower body. Characters shared between A. astorquii and A. zaliosus, but absent in A. citrinellus and A. labiatus, including black breeding coloration, an elongate lateral spot, a continuous lateral stripe, and a relatively shallow body suggest recent common ancestry and intra-lacustrine speciation.