Sailfin molly
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| Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821) |
The sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna, is a species of fish, of the genus Poecilia. They inhabit fresh, brackish, and coastal waters from North Carolina to Texas and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
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[edit] Taxonomy
The sailfin molly was originally described in 1821 as Mollienesia latipinna by the naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur. Lesueur based his description upon specimens from freshwater ponds in the vicinity of New Orleans, Louisiana. However, Lesueur described other collections of the sailfin molly as Mollienesia multilineata in 1821, the same year in which he described M. latipinna. This conflict created confusion and eventually necessitated a ruling by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). In 1959, the ICZN placed precedence on the name Mollienesia latipinna Lesueur 1821. In a landmark definitive work on Poeciliid fishes, Donn Rosen and Reeve Bailey (1959) noted the priority of Poecilia by Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider (1801) with regards to Mollienesia by Lesueur (1821), thereby relegating Mollienesia to the synonymy of Poecilia.
[edit] Common names
Sailfin molly, Breitflossenkärpfling (German), bubuntis (Tagalog), Molinezja szerokopletwa (Polish), molliénésie á voilure (French), and tabai (Hawaiian).
[edit] Geographical distribution
The sailfin molly is found in fresh, brackish, and coastal salt water in coastal lowland habitats from North Carolina to Texas and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Preferring marshes, lowland streams, swamps, and estuaries, the sailfin molly is very common in peninsular Florida. Non-indigenous populations are established in the western U.S. and in Hawaii [1]. Sailfin mollies introduced to California [2] have caused a decline in populations of the Federally protected and endangered Desert Pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) [3] [4].
[edit] Habitat
Sailfin mollies are most commonly observed in the shallow surface waters along the edges of marshes, lowland streams, ponds, swamps, estuaries and even ephemeral water bodies such as roadside ditches. Small to large aggregations of the species are most commonly found under floating vegetation or near structures in the water, minimizing their chances of being observed by potential predators.
The sailfin molly is a tolerant species. By exploiting the thin film of oxygen rich surface water with their upturned mouths, sailfin mollies are able to survive oxygen depleted habitats. A euryhaline species, the sailfin molly may be found in a variety of saline environments tolerating salinities as high as 87 ppt [5] and will breed in brackish waters.
Adults thrive best in isolated pools or organically enriched waterways where few other fish occur (Minckley 1973).
[edit] Biology
[edit] Distinctive features
The body of the sailfin molly is essentially oblong. The head is small and dorsally flattened, with a small, upturned mouth. The caudal peduncle is broad and the caudal fin is large, rounded, and sometimes tipped with black. The pelvic fins originate at a point anterior to the dorsal fin. In mature males the dorsal fin is greatly enlarged and colourful (it is this feature that gives the species its common name) and the caudal fin is similarly colourful, these conspicuous secondary sexual features play a role in female mate choices. Females tend to be larger and more plainly coloured, a difference characteristic to the Poeciliidae. (See: Sexual selection)
[edit] Colouration
The body is generally light grey, although breeding males may be greenish-blue. Several rows of spots occur along the sides, back, and dorsal fin. Often these spots blend together forming stripes. Aquarists have developed many colour variations in this species, (variation occurs naturally in the wild) with melanistic, leucistic, albino, and speckled forms known.
[edit] Size, age, and growth
The natural lifespan of sailfin mollies, is short, particularly in the case of the males, which may live less than one year after achieving sexual maturity. Depending upon environmental conditions sailfin mollies may become reproductive in less than a year. Sailfin mollies are small fish. At one year of age males typically range in size from 15-51 mm SL while mature females are likely to be approximately 19-53 mm SL. The sizes of adult males is directly correlated with population density. The greater the population, the smaller the average size of males. The maximum recorded size for this species is 150 mm TL.
[edit] Food habits
Sailfin mollies feed primarily upon algae and other plant materials, although they will consume a number of aquatic invertebrates including the larvae of mosquitoes.
[edit] Reproduction
Fertilization is internal and is accomplished by means of highly modified fin elements within the anal fin of males that form a structure known as the gonopodium. Sailfin mollies produce broods of 10-140 live young, depending upon maturity and size, and females may store sperm long after the demise of their relatively short-lived mates. The gestation period for this species is approximately 3-4 weeks, depending upon temperature, and a single female may give birth on multiple occasions throughout the year. Although sex ratios of the broods are balanced, adult populations tend to be largely female as males appear to suffer higher rates of mortality due to a greater susceptibility to predators and disease as a consequence of their brighter colours and a life devoted to frenzied breeding. There is no parental care exhibited by this species.
[edit] Predators
Sailfin mollies are members of the lower end of the food chain. As such they are prey for various animals including aquatic insects, other fishes, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals. Specific examples include: giant water bugs (Belostomatidae), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), snowy egret (Egretta thula), and racoon (Procyon lotor).
[edit] Parasites
The trematode, Saccocoelioides sogandaresi is a known parasite of the sailfin molly [6] [7] [8].
[edit] Importance to humans
The sailfin molly, in its many colour varieties is of considerable interest and value to aquarists and many artificially selected varieties are produced and sold in pet shops. Naturally occurring populations of sailfin mollies may help to control mosquito populations by feeding on the larvae and pupae of these pests.
[edit] Conservation
This species is not listed as threatened or vulnerable by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
[edit] See also
- Poecilia latipinna (TSN 165898). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 30 April 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ Arizona State Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan [1]
- ^ Final Environmental Impact Statement, Wetland Assessment for the F- and H-Area Groundwater Remediation Project at the Savannah River Site (March 2004) [2]
- ^ Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department [3]
- ^ Status of the Desert Pupfish, Cypronidon macularius (Baird and Girard), in California [4]
- ^ Biota Information System Of New Mexico [5]
- ^ ITIS Database [6]
- ^ Life History of Saccocoelioides pearsoni n. sp. and the Description of Lecithobotrys sprenti n. sp. (Trematoda: Haploporidae) [7]
- ^ Systematic Parasitology [8]
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