Gambusia

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Gambusia
250px
Cuban gambusia, Gambusia punctata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Gambusia

Poey, 1854

Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Gambusia is a large genus of fish in family Poeciliidae (order Cyprinodontiformes). Gambusia contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in brackish or saltwater habitats. The type species is the Cuban gambusia, G. punctata. The greatest species richness is in Mexico, Texas, and the Greater Antilles, but species are also found elsewhere in eastern and southern United States, The Bahamas, Central America, and Colombia. Gambusia species are often called topminnows or simply gambusias; they are also known as mosquitofish, which, however, refers more specifically to two species, G. affinis and G. holbrooki. These can be introduced into ponds to eat mosquito larvae.[1][2] As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and sometimes become invasive, threatening the local species.[3] They are very important in aquarium trade, desired for small size, ease of breeding, and charming gracefulness. They are viviparous—they have live young.

Nine species are listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List; one, the widemouth gambusia, G. eurystoma, is Critically Endangered; and two, the Amistad gambusia, G. amistadensis, and the San Marcos gambusia, G. georgei, are already extinct.

Species

The 45 currently recognized species in this genus are:[4][5]

References

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />
  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (2013). Gambusia affinis (Mosquito fish). Retrieved 27 February 2013
  4. Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). Species of Gambusia in FishBase. August 2012 version.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Langerhans, R. B., Gifford, M. E., Domínguez-Domínguez, O., García-Bedoya, D. & DeWitt, T.J. (2012): Gambusia quadruncus (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae): a new species of mosquitofish from east-central México. Journal of Fish Biology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03397.x