''Gambusia'' is a large genus of

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the family

Poeciliidae The Poeciliidae are a family of freshwater fishes of the order Cyprinodontiformes, the tooth-carps, and include well-known live-bearing aquarium fish, such as the guppy, molly, platy, and swordtail. The original distribution of the family was t ...

(order

Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontiformes is an order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, freshwater fish. Many popular aquarium fish, such as killifish and Poeciliidae, live-bearers, are included. They are closely related t ...

). ''Gambusia'' contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

or saltwater habitats. 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 ...

is the

Cuban gambusia The Cuban gambusia (''Gambusia punctata'') is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, and is the type species of its genus. It is native to Cuba, inhabiting primarily stagnant lakes or ...

, ''G. punctata''. The greatest

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative a ...

is in Mexico,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

, but species are also found elsewhere in the eastern and southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, Central America, and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. ''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'', which are often introduced into ponds to eat

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 ...

larvae. As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and frequently become

invasive Invasive may refer to: *Invasive (medical) procedure *Invasive species *Invasive observation, especially in reference to surveillance *Invasively progressive spread of disease from one organ in the body to another, especially in reference to cancer ...

, threatening local species. They are only occasionally kept in aquariums, due to their relative lack of color and the highly aggressive nature of the aforementioned mosquitofish species. Nine species are listed as vulnerable in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

; one, the

widemouth gambusia The widemouth gambusia (''Gambusia eurystoma'') is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae of the order Cyprinodontiformes. It is endemic to Mexico, specifically to the Baños del Azufre (Grijalva River basin) near Teapa, Tabasco. The Baños ...

, ''G. eurystoma'', is critically endangered; and two, the

Amistad gambusia The Amistad gambusia (''Gambusia amistadensis'') is an extinct species of small fish known only from a single locality, the large vegetated Goodenough Spring in Val Verde County, Texas. It apparently was driven to extinction in the wild when its ...

, ''G. amistadensis'', and the

San Marcos gambusia The San Marcos gambusia (''Gambusia georgei'') is an extinct species of gambusia from the family Poeciliidae that was found only in the San Marcos Springs of Central Texas. The fish has not been seen since 1983. The specific name of this fish ho ...

, ''G. georgei'', are already

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

Species

The 45 currently recognized species in this genus are: * ''

Gambusia affinis The western Mosquitofish (''Gambusia affinis'') is a North American freshwater fish, also known commonly, if ambiguously, as simply Mosquitofish or by its genus, generic name, ''Gambusia'', or by the common name gambezi. Its sister species, th ...

'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853) (mosquitofish, western mosquitofish) * ''

Gambusia alvarezi The yellowfin gambusia (''Gambusia alvarezi'') is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae. It is endemic to the Rio Conchos of Chihuahua, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the sout ...

'' C. Hubbs & V. G. Springer, 1957 (yellowfin gambusia) * †'' Gambusia amistadensis'' Peden, 1973 (Amistad gambusia) * '' Gambusia atrora'' D. E. Rosen & R. M. Bailey, 1963 (blackfin gambusia) * '' Gambusia aurata''

R. R. Miller Robert Rush Miller (April 23, 1916 – February 10, 2003) "was an important figure in American ichthyology and conservation from 1940 to the 1990s." He was born in Colorado Springs, earned his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berke ...

W. L. Minckley Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...

, 1970 (golden gambusia) * '' Gambusia baracoana'' Rivas, 1944 * '' Gambusia beebei'' G. S. Myers, 1935 (Miragoane gambusia) * '' Gambusia bucheri'' Rivas, 1944 * ''

Gambusia clarkhubbsi ''Gambusia'' is a large genus of viviparous fish in the 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 br ...

'' G. P. Garrett & R. J. Edwards, 2003 (San Felipe gambusia) * '' Gambusia dominicensis''

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1913 (Dominican gambusia) * '' Gambusia echeagarayi'' (

Álvarez Álvarez or Álvares may refer to: People *Álvarez (surname), Spanish surname Places *Alvares (river), a river in northern Spain * Alvares (ski resort), in Iran *Alvares, Iran * Alvares, Portugal *Álvarez, Santa Fe, a town in the province of Sa ...

, 1952) (Maya gambusia) * ''

Gambusia eurystoma The widemouth gambusia (''Gambusia eurystoma'') is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae of the order Cyprinodontiformes. It is endemic to Mexico, specifically to the Baños del Azufre (Grijalva River basin) near Teapa, Tabasco Tabasc ...

'' R. R. Miller, 1975 (widemouth gambusia) * '' Gambusia gaigei'' C. L. Hubbs, 1929 (Big Bend gambusia) * '' Gambusia geiseri'' C. Hubbs & C. L. Hubbs, 1957 (largespring gambusia) * †'' Gambusia georgei'' C. Hubbs & Peden, 1969 (San Marcos gambusia) * '' Gambusia heterochir'' C. Hubbs, 1957 (Clear Creek gambusia) * '' Gambusia hispaniolae'' W. L. Fink, 1971 (Hispaniolan gambusia) * ''

Gambusia holbrooki The eastern mosquitofish (''Gambusia holbrooki'') is a species of freshwater fish, closely related to the western mosquitofish, ''Gambusia affinis''. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The eastern mosquitofish ...

'' Girard, 1859 (eastern mosquitofish) * '' Gambusia hurtadoi'' C. Hubbs & V. G. Springer, 1957 (crescent gambusia) * '' Gambusia krumholzi''

, 1963 (spotfin gambusia) * ''

Gambusia lemaitrei ''Gambusia'' is a large genus of viviparous fish in the 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 b ...

'' Fowler, 1950 * '' Gambusia longispinis''

, 1962 (Cuatrocienegas gambusia) * '' Gambusia luma'' D. E. Rosen & R. M. Bailey, 1963 (sleek mosquitofish) * '' Gambusia manni'' C. L. Hubbs, 1927 * '' Gambusia marshi''

& Craddock, 1962 (robust gambusia) * '' Gambusia melapleura'' ( P. H. Gosse, 1851) (striped gambusia) * '' Gambusia monticola'' Rivas, 1971 * '' Gambusia myersi'' C. G. E. Ah, 1925 * '' Gambusia nicaraguensis'' Günther, 1866 (Nicaraguan mosquitofish) * '' Gambusia nobilis'' ( S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853) (Pecos gambusia) * '' Gambusia panuco'' C. L. Hubbs, 1926 (Panuco gambusia) * '' Gambusia pseudopunctata'' Rivas, 1969 (Tiburon Peninsula gambusia) * '' Gambusia punctata'' Poey, 1854 (Cuban gambusia) * '' Gambusia puncticulata'' Poey, 1854 (Caribbean gambusia) * '' Gambusia quadruncus'' Langerhans, Gifford, Domínguez-Domínguez, García-Bedoya & T. J. DeWitt, 2012 * ''

Gambusia regani ''Gambusia'' is a large genus of viviparous fish in the 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 br ...

'' C. L. Hubbs, 1926 (Forlon gambusia) * '' Gambusia rhizophorae'' Rivas, 1969 (mangrove gambusia) * '' Gambusia senilis'' Girard, 1859 (blotched gambusia) * '' Gambusia sexradiata'' C. L. Hubbs, 1936 (teardrop mosquitofish) * '' Gambusia speciosa'' Girard, 1859 (Tex-Mex gambusia) * '' Gambusia vittata'' C. L. Hubbs, 1926 (Gulf gambusia) * '' Gambusia wrayi'' Regan, 1913 (Wray's gambusia) * '' Gambusia xanthosoma'' D. W. Greenfield, 1983 (Cayman gambusia) * '' Gambusia yucatana'' Regan, 1914 (Yucatán gambusia) * '' Gambusia zarskei'' M. K. Meyer, Schories & Schartl, 2010

Notes

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q516188 Freshwater fish genera Freshwater fish of Central America Freshwater fish of South America Freshwater fish of Mexico Live-bearing fish Ray-finned fish genera Poeciliidae Taxa named by Felipe Poey