Speckled Peacock Bass Cichla temensis

The Speckled Peacock Bass, also called Speckled Pavon, is a cichlid that looks like a bass, native to slow-moving blackwater rivers of northwestern South America, mainly the Orinoco and Rio Negro systems.

It is one of the two largest cichlids in the world and can reach around a metre length (the other being Africa's Giant Cichlid of Tanganyika).

Basic colour and patterns vary: the usual grey or olive background with red pelvic, anal and lower tail fins is supplemented by 3 dark vertical bars that fade with age. Non-breeding adults have the white speckles that give the fish its name. All have a dark mark on the gill behind the eye and a white-bordered black spot near the tail on each side. It is a piscivorous predator with a large mouth.

Juveniles are more speckled and some can be quite dark. The large fish in the shallows above (especially when compared to the size of the river stingray) is thought to be a juvenile Speckled Pavon.