| Amistad gambusia | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Poeciliidae |
| Genus: | Gambusia |
| Species: | G. amistadensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Gambusia amistadensis Peden, 1973 |
|
The Amistad gambusia (Gambusia amistadensis) was a small fish known only to occur in Goodenough Spring, Val Verde County, Texas, a tributary of the Rio Grande. This species was eliminated in the wild when construction of the Amistad Reservoir in 1968 submerged Goodenough Spring under approximately 70 feet of water. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the Amistad gambusia as endangered in 1980, at which time it occurred only in captivity. The two captive populations, held by the University of Texas System and the Dexter National Fish Hatchery in New Mexico, died or were eliminated through hybridization and predation. The FWS ruled the Amistad gambusia extinct in 1987, and removed it from the endangered species list.