Paretroplus is a genus of fishes in the cichlid family, all of which are Endemism to lakes and rivers of Madagascar. The vast majority are threatened and restricted to the northwestern part of the island.[Sparks, J. S. (2008). Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 314 :1-151] Only P. polyactis is found in the southern half of Madagascar and only P. polyactis and P. gymnopreopercularis are found in eastern drainages.[Sparks, J. S. and Schelly, R. C. (2011). A new species of Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Etroplinae) from northeastern Madagascar, with a phylogeny and revised diagnosis for the P. damii clade. Zootaxa 2768: 55–68.] Most are restricted to freshwater, but at least P. polyactis and P. maromandia can also be seen in brackish habitats.[
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They are more closely related to the genus Etroplus from India and Sri Lanka than they are to other cichlids from Madagascar (subfamilies Paratilapiinae and Ptychochrominae).[ (2004): Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the Malagasy and South Asian cichlids (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30(3): 599–614. (HTML abstract)] Their maximum length varies greatly depending on the exact species, ranging from in Kotsovato and P. gymnopreopercularis to almost in Damba.[ Paretroplus includes both relatively slender-bodied species ( P. damii, P. gymnopreopercularis, P. kieneri, P. lamenabe, P. loisellei, P. nourissati and P. tsimoly) and relatively deep-bodied species (all remaining).][
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Species
There are currently 13 recognized species in this genus.[
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Paretroplus dambabe Sparks, 2002
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Paretroplus damii Pieter Bleeker, 1868
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Paretroplus gymnopreopercularis Sparks, 2008
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Paretroplus kieneri Jacques Arnoult, 1960
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Paretroplus lamenabe Sparks, 2008 (Big red cichlid)
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Paretroplus loisellei Sparks & Schelly, 2011
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Paretroplus maculatus Kiener & Maugé, 1966
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Paretroplus maromandia Sparks & Reinthal, 1999
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Paretroplus menarambo Robert Allgayer, 1996
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Paretroplus nourissati (Robert Allgayer, 1998)
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Paretroplus petiti Pellegrin, 1929
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Paretroplus polyactis Pieter Bleeker, 1878
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Paretroplus tsimoly Stiassny, Chakrabarty & Loiselle, 2001
The genus can be divided into several , and these include P. lamenabe, P. nourissati and P. tsimoly, which have been considered worthy of placement in their own genus Lamena (still used in their common names).[ On a higher level these three are part of a clade that also includes P. damii and P. loisellei.][
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