BioInvasions Records (2020) Volume 9, Issue 3: 588–598 CORRECTED PROOF Rapid Communication First report of the hybrid blood parrot cichlid from a rice agroecosystem in Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang, Peninsular Malaysia, with notes on syntopic Midas cichlid, Amphilophus citrinellus (Günther, 1864) M. Aqmal-Naser1 and Amirrudin B. Ahmad1,2,* 1Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia 2Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia *Corresponding author E-mail:
[email protected] Citation: Aqmal-Naser M, Ahmad AB (2020) First report of the hybrid blood Abstract parrot cichlid from a rice agroecosystem in Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang, Peninsular The blood parrot cichlid, an artificial fish hybrid, was recorded for the first time in Malaysia, with notes on syntopic Midas a rice agroecosystem based on specimen collected in Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang, cichlid, Amphilophus citrinellus (Günther, Peninsular Malaysia. A potential parental species of this hybrid fish, the Midas cichlid 1864). BioInvasions Records 9(3): 588– (Amphilophus citrinellus) was also recorded from this agroecosystem. There was 598, https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2020.9.3.15 no evidence of self-sustaining populations of this hybrid fish in the agroecosystem. Received: 8 April 2019 Nevertheless, their presence increased the risk of food and space competition with Accepted: 26 March 2020 native species (e.g., Pristolepis fasciata), as well as the spread of disease such as Published: 21 May 2020 pneumocystectomy. Handling editor: Darren Yeo Thematic editor: Michal Janáč Key words: Midas cichlid, alien species, aquarium dumping, ornamental fish, Cichlidae Copyright: © Aqmal-Naser and Ahmad This is an open access article distributed under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0).