Eastern mosquitofish
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| Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 |
The eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. It is native to the eastern and southern United States, and grows to 3.5 cm in length.
[edit] Invasive species
Eastern mosquitofish were introduced to Australia to control mosquitoes, when in reality various small Australian native fish were already keeping mosquitoes to a minimal level.
They are aggressive, fin-nipping harassers of other fish and pose a serious threat to native Australian fish and aquatic fauna. Negative impacts on rainbowfish species and at least one frog species have been documented. Several rainbowfish populations appear to have become extinct due to the impacts of introduced Gambusia.
[edit] References
- "Gambusia holbrooki". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
