Gambusia

Gambusia
Gambusia sexradiata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Poeciliidae
Tribe: Gambusiini
Genus: Gambusia
Poey, 1854
Type species
Gambusia punctata
Poey, 1854[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Arthrophallus C.L. Hubbs, 1926
  • Dicerophallus J. Álvarez, 1952
  • Flexipenis C.L. Hubbs, 1963
  • Heterophallina C.L. Hubbs, 1926
  • Heterophallus C.T. Regan, 1914[a]
  • Orthophallus L.R. Rivas, 1963
  • Paragambusia Meek, 1904
  • Schizophallus C.L. Hubbs, 1926
  • Toluichthys Dahl, 1964

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 brackish or saltwater habitats. The genus Gambusia comes from the Cuban term gambusino which means 'free-lance miner'[3][4] or may be related to Spanish gamusino,[5] an imaginary animal used in a practical joke similar to the snipe hunt.[6] 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 the 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, which are often introduced into ponds to eat mosquito larvae.[7][8] As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and frequently become invasive, threatening local species.[9] G. affinis and G. holbrooki are now established in many parts of the world and are likely to continue to spread as climatic conditions change.[10] 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; two, the widemouth gambusia, G. eurystoma, and the crescent gambusia, G. hurtadoi, are 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:[11][12]

Notes

  1. ^ Heterophallus is a valid genus

References

  1. ^ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Gambusia". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Poeciliidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  3. ^ Wallus, Robert (1990). Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage. Bruce L. Yeager, Thomas P. Simon, Tennessee Valley Authority. Aquatic Biology Department, Tennessee Valley Authority. Office of Power, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Nashville District, American Electric Power Service Corporation. Chattanooga, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, Aquatic Biology Dept., Water Resources. ISBN 0-8493-1919-6. OCLC 23153067.
  4. ^ "gambusino, gambusina". Diccionario de americanismos (in Spanish). 29 May 2026. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  5. ^ Clavero Pineda, Miguel (4 June 2026). "Sadí de Buen, los gambusinos y el mito de la erradicación de la malaria". The Conversation (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  6. ^ "gamusino". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish) (23.8.1 online ed.). RAE-ASALE. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  7. ^ "Gambusia: A Little Fish That Helps Solve Big Mosquito Problems". Alabama Vector Management Society. 24 December 2009. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  8. ^ Allen, Greg (10 June 2011). "Tropical Disease Buzzes Back Into U.S." Morning Edition. NPR. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  9. ^ Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (2013). Gambusia affinis (Mosquito fish) Archived 2018-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 February 2013
  10. ^ Jourdan, Jonas; Riesch, Rüdiger; Cunze, Sarah (2021). "Off to new shores: Climate niche expansion in invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia spp.)". Ecology and Evolution. 11 (24): 18369–18400. Bibcode:2021EcoEv..1118369J. doi:10.1002/ece3.8427. PMC 8717293. PMID 35003679.
  11. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Gambusia". FishBase. August 2012 version.
  12. ^ a b 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. 81 (5): 1514–1539. Bibcode:2012JFBio..81.1514L. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03397.x. PMID 23020559.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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