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Astronotus ocellatus

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Astronotus ocellatus

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Also known as oscar, tiger oscar, velvet cichlid, marble cichlid, Oscar (fish)

species of fish from the cichlid family

OverviewAI-generated

Astronotus ocellatus, commonly known as the Oscar, is a freshwater fish species described by Agassiz in 1831. It belongs to the family Cichlidae and the order Perciformes, though it is also classified under the order Cichliformes and the class Teleostei within the phylum Chordata. The species is recognized as an accepted taxon in the Animalia kingdom.

Records of this organism have been documented in Brazil, Israel, Venezuela, Peru, and Mexico. Various institutions, including CUMV, UWFC, TCWC, KU, and AUM, hold records of the species. The IUCN Red List assessed the status of Astronotus ocellatus as Least Concern in 2023.

Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, IUCN Red List, Gbif Occ, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

Oscar

Astronotus ocellatus

SPECIES

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassTeleostei
  4. OrderPerciformes
  5. FamilyCichlidae
Habitatfreshwater
Observations2,168
Observations recorded1,819

via GBIF · IUCN

Museum specimens

Specimen records
405
With media
10
Family
Cichlidae
Collections
CUMV, UWFC, TCWC, KU, AUM, USNM
Recorded in
Brazil, Israel, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is a species of fish from the cichlid family known under a variety of common names, including Tiger Oscar, Velvet Cichlid, and Marble Cichlid. In tropical South America, where the species naturally resides, A. ocellatus specimens are often found for sale as a food fish in the local markets. The fish has been introduced to other areas, including India, China, Australia, and the United States. It is considered a popular aquarium fish in Europe and the U.S.

Taxonomy

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Astronotus ocellatus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (11)