Apistogramma barlowi is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of dwarf cichlid

Dwarf cichlid

Dwarf cichlid is a term used by fishkeeping hobbyists to describe an arbitrary assemblage of small-sized fish from the family Cichlidae. Although the grouping is widely used in the aquarium industry and hobby, the grouping has no taxonomic or ecological basis and is poorly defined...

 in the Geophaginae

Geophaginae

Geophaginae is a subfamily of cichlid fishes from South America, where they are found as far west as the Andes and as far south as northern Argentina...

 subfamily. It was first located in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 in 2000 and scientifically described in 2008.
It lives in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and has only been found northwest of Pebas

Pebas District

Pebas District is one of four districts of the province Mariscal Ramón Castilla in Peru.-References:...

, Peru.
Apistogramma barlowi is a freshwater fish

Freshwater fish

Freshwater fish are fish that spend some or all of their lives in freshwater, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 0.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, the most obvious being the difference in levels of salinity...

 that grows to a length of 10 cm.
The head is large. The specific name is in honor of the ichthyologist George W. Barlow.
The fish has previously been known under the trade name Apistogramma

Apistogramma

Apistogramma is a genus of approximately a hundred species of fish from the family Cichlidae found in tropical areas of the Amazon basin and Venezuela. Apistogramma literally means "irregular lateral line" referring to a common trait of the species under this taxon...

sp. "mouthbrooder", "Maulbrüter" or "Brustband".

Spawning

This is a mouthbrooder

Mouthbrooder

Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a variety of different animals, most notably Darwin's...

, which is unusual in the genus Apistogramma. Like other apistos, they spawn in caves. After the fry has hatched, the female keeps them in her mouth until they are free-swimming.