Short synopsis of Neetroplus Günther, 1867

Type species: Neetroplus nematopus Günther, 1867

Distinctive characters: Rogers (1981) gave a thorough analysis of the genus Neetroplus. Neetroplus nematopus can be distinguished from all other Central American cichlids by its truncate, red tipped incisor-like teeth in the jaws. Furthermore, N. nematopus can be distinguished by its cephalic morphology with the rounded profie and the subterminal mouth (which can also be observed in H. nicaraguensis: see "Relationship between Hypsophrys and Neetroplus"). The species has 28-34 scales along the lateral line and 5 row of scales on the cheeks. Finally, the species has a unique color pattern with a dull ground coloration and a single contrsting darker bar on the side. During breeding, the body color deepens to dark grey or black and the fomerly black bar turns white, thus producing an almost inverse color pattern.

Species currently included:

Neetroplus nematopus	C, P, A(Overview)
C=CRC Catalogue, P=Note on phylogeny, A=Article

Distribution: The species occurs in riverine and lacustrine habitats on the Atlantic versant from northern Costa Rica (Rio San Juan system) to the Rio Grande del Matagalpa in Nicaragua (Bussing, 1998).

Further information: Neetroplus nicaraguensis Gill in Gill & Bransford, 1877 and Neetroplus fluviatilis Meek, 1912 differ in some meristic characteristics from the type specimens of N. nematopus. These differences, however, can most likely be attributed to the different origin of the material (lacustrine vs. riverine; Rogers, 1981).