Volume 38, Plate XXVII / Ichthyology (Fish)

Cychla of the Oronoco

Cychla Orinocencis

Reckoned the most beautiful of river fishes, this Cychla of the Oronoco reaches one to three feet and belongs to the perch-like fishes with a single continuous dorsal, its blue spots bordered with gold shining brilliantly like peacock’s-tail eyes. Frequently eaten on the banks of the Oronoco and Rio Negro and found agreeable, it was named Saupa by the Caridaquere Indians, the river’s temperature then standing at twenty-four degrees Centigrade.