The Gila topminnow or charalito (''Poeciliopsis occidentalis'') is a species of

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 ...

. It is found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the

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 ...

Description

The Gila topminnow has an elongated curved body. Males are rarely over and they are smaller than females, which can sometimes be . The belly is often white with darker body above, has scales with dark outlines, and a lateral dark band on the side.

Distribution

Gila topminnow once occupied in the Gila River drainage in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and

. Currently, they are known to be in Gila River drainage in Arizona and Mexico.

Biology

Gila topminnow was once the most common fish found in the Gila River drainage. They are fertilized internally; reproduction season usually is from April to November. The female gives birth from 10–15 young per brood. These young brood will reach maturity from a weeks to several months. Gila topminnow are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, and eat food such as detritus and amphipod

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s; but feed mostly on aquatic insect larvae, especially

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 ...

Habitat

This species of fish prefers to live in shallow warm water in headwater springs. They can survive in water with temperature ranging from near freezing to near . They can also live in water with a wide range of pH from 6.6 – 8.9 and salinity from fresh water to sea water.Stefferud, S.E. 1982. Recovery Plan for the gila and yaqui topminnow. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region II. pp. 1–38

Conservation

Gila topminnow are endangered due to predation and competition from the introduced mosquitofish. Threats also come from continued habitat loss due to water development, habitat degradation due to erosion from roads and drought. Gila topminnow from Sharp Spring are currently being held and bred at

Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center The Southwestern Native Aquatic Resources and Recovery Center, formerly known as Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center, is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility dedicated to fish culture techniques for threatened and endangered fish ...

at Dexter, New Mexico, for re-introduction to wild habitats.

References

External links

IUCN Red List treatment: ''Poeciliopsis occidentalis'' – Charalito

IUCN: all species searchpage
{{Taxonbar, from=Q337042 Poeciliopsis Fish of the Western United States Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Gila River Freshwater fish of the United States Near threatened fauna of North America Near threatened biota of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA endangered species Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard Fish described in 1853