''Cubanichthys cubensis'', the Cuban killifish, is a species of

killifish A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish (including families Aplocheilidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Profundulidae and Valenciidae). All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest family ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cyprinodontidae, the

pupfish Pupfish are a group of small killifish belonging to ten genera of the family Cyprinodontidae of ray-finned fish. Pupfish are especially noted for being found in extreme and isolated situations. They are primarily found in North America, South Am ...

es which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Cuba.

Description

''Cubanichthys cubensis'' has a cylindrical body which is slightly broader and taller in the anterior portion. They are a typical size for kiilifish, the males are while the females are slightly smaller. They are not colourful, the body being a mottled semi-transparent golden buff with a creamy white patch which starts behind the gill covers and forms an diagonal arch which reaches the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

and which covers the viscera. A series of horizontal light blue lines start at the gill covers and extend along the body to the

caudal peduncle Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. There is a broken dark line which frequently runs from the lower mandible through the middle of the eye, and proceeding to the upper part of the gill cover. The males are brighter and the blue line sare more obvious, continuing on to the bases of both the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

and anal fins. Like other pupfish this species is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

and the males have more extravagant fins than the females with added extensions on the anal and dorsal fins while their tail can be washed with blue. The females are plainer and often display mottling or splotching along the centre line of the body.

Distribution

''Cubanichthys cubensis'' is endemic species to Cuba where it is predominantly found in the western part of the island becoming more localised in the central parts. It has been found as far east as the municipality of Moron, Cuba in Ciego de Avila. English abstract of Spanish article

Habitat and biology

''Cubanichthys cubensis'' prefers fresh water but can infrequently be found in brackish water. They strongly prefer waters with thick vegetation consisting of macrophytes or

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

plants and where they show a preference for open sunny areas. The

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

period lasts for several days during which the females can lay up to 10 eggs a day, laying each egg individually and placing them on a plant. The eggs are relatively large in size, measuring 1.4 mm in diameter, transparent and adhesive. Sometimes a female with be seen with some eggs hanging from her urogenital paplliae but she soon rubs the eggs off onto water plants. It has been described a larvivorous and a large part of this species' dietconsists of the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es.

Formal description

''Cubanichthys cubensis'' is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Cubanichthys ''Cubanichthys'' is a small genus of pupfishes endemic to the Caribbean Islands of Cuba and Jamaica. The name of this genus is a compound of Cuba, where the genus was thought to be endemic until ''C. pengellyi'' was placed in the genus, and the G ...

''. It was originally described in 1903 as ''Fundulus cubensis'' by Carl H. Eigenmann with the type locality being cited as Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

References

{{Taxonbar, From=Q951536 cubensis Fish described in 1903 Endemic fauna of Cuba