''Jenynsia multidentata'' 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 famil ...

from the

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

Anablepidae Anablepidae is a family of fishes which live in brackish and freshwater habitats from southern Mexico to southern South America. There are three genera with sixteen species: the four-eyed fishes (genus '' Anableps''), the onesided livebearers (g ...

. It is a

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 ...

benthopelagic The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

species in the genus ''Jenynsia''. They are

onesided livebearer ''Jenynsia'' is a genus of freshwater fishes in the family Anablepidae. Like '' Anableps'' species, they are onesided livebearers: some sources indicate that they only mate on one side, right-"handed" males with left-"handed" females and vice ...

s with a clear asymmetry of the males' genitalia. With onset of maturity, the anal fin of male fish develops into a gonopodium which can be brought forward on one side only. Based on the bending to the left or to the right of the tip of the gonopodium, two morphs of male fish can be distinguished.

Taxonomy

The species ''Jenynsia multidentata'' was originally described in 1842 as ''Lebias multidentata'' by the naturalist

Leonard Jenyns Leonard Jenyns (25 May 1800 – 1 September 1893) was an English clergyman, author and naturalist. He was forced to take on the name Leonard Blomefield to receive an inheritance. He is chiefly remembered for his detailed phenology observations ...

. Accepted synonyms are ''Fitzroyia multidentata'' also described by Jenyns in 1842 and ''Poecilia punctata'' which was suggested by Valenciennes in 1846.

Geographical distribution

''Jenynsia multidentata'' is the most widespread species of the genus ''Jenynsia''. The distribution is ranging from the Atlantic coastal drainages from the Rio Negro Province (Argentina) to the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Diet

''Jenynsia multidentata'' is an omnivorous-planktivorous fish which often occurs in high densities in (hyper)eutrophic shallow lakes and can feed on zooplankton, phytoplankton, periphyton, invertebrates as well as detritus.

References

Anablepidae Fish described in 1842 {{rayfinned-fish-stub