on individuals from several different locations in the M. urophthalmus group's native range. Taxonomy Both the species beani and urophthalmus were first scientifically described as members of the genus Heros and then moved to Cichlasoma despite clearly belonging elsewhere. Mayaheros was only established for them in 2016. Species Traditionally, only two species have been recognized in this group: the northwest Mexican beani, and the southeast Mexican and northern Central American urophthalmus. The latter had a large number of subspecies that had been described in 1935–38 by Carl Leavitt Hubbs based on exact colour patterns (notably of their body stripes and tail base spot) and morphometrics. In a taxonomic review of 2003, those that had been described in 1936–38 by Hubbs and troschelii described in 1867 by Franz Steindachner were preliminarily elevated to species status, thus increasing the number of recognized species in the urophthalmus group to eleven. In a 2005 thesis, it was proposed that all those, trispilus described in 1935 by Hubbs, and eight additional currently undescribed species (names were proposed, but the thesis does not comply with article 8 of the ICZN Code) should be recognized in the urophthalmus group based on colour patterns and morphometrics. This would effectively limit "true" M. urophthalmus to the Lake Petén system in Guatemala. Other reviews of many of the populations in the urophthalmus group found that genetic differences are very small without clear geographic structure, that there likely has been widespread translocations of the cichlids by humans in the pre-Columbian era, and that there is a large amount of individual variations in pattern and morphometrics, mostly depending on environmental factors. This points to a single variable species with a high degree of phenotypic plasticity rather than several different species in the urophthalmus group. As a consequence, all proposed species that were directly checked in those studies have been synonymized with M. urophthalmus by Catalog of Fishes, leaving only the unchecked M. aguadae, M. amarus, M. ericymba and M. trispilus as still recognized in this group. In the IUCN's evaluation of 2019, M. urophthalmus had been returned to its original single-species form without other recognized species in the group. In contrast to the complicated taxonomic status of M. urophthalmus, the single-species taxonomy of M. beani is agreed upon by all major authorities. Unlike Catalog of Fishes and the IUCN, FishBase continues to recognize thirteen species in this genus, including M. urophthalmus itself