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Poecilia latipinna

(Lesueur, 1821)

Sailfin Molly

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102340
Element CodeAFCNC04020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCyprinodontiformes
FamilyPoeciliidae
GenusPoecilia
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
This species and P. petenensis and P. velifera may be a single polytypic species. Included in order Cyprinodontiformes by Parenti (1981).

See Breden et al. (1999) for a molecular phylogeny of Poecilia.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-09-20
Change Date1996-09-20
Range Extent Comments
Atlantic and Gulf Coast drainages from Cape Fear drainage, North Carolina, to Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), including nearly all of Florida peninsula (where abundant); restricted to coastal areas in most of range, ranges farther inland in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas (Page and Burr 1991). Introduced in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and possibly other areas.
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations.
Threat Impact Comments
Localized threats may exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Fresh, brackish, and salt waters along coast; springs, lakes and ponds, backwaters and pools of streams, drainage ditches, and salt marshes in Florida. Irrigation canals in southern California. Around springs in quieter water with little temperature fluctuation in Texas. Warm-adapted; can tolerate salinities up to 87 ppt (Sublette et al. 1990) and can tolerate waterways degraded by sewage and industrial effluents (Felley and Daniels 1992).

Ecology

Females may greatly outnumber males (Moyle 1976). Sedentary.

Reproduction

Internal fertilization. Live bearer. Female capable of storing sperm. Large female can produce up to 141 young (Moyle 1976). In east-central Florida, reproduction peaks in May-June and August-September (Snelson 1984). Individuals may breed in the year in which they were born.
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLAND
Other Nations (2)
CanadaNNA
ProvinceRankNative
AlbertaSNANo
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS4Yes
North CarolinaS2Yes
AlabamaS2Yes
GeorgiaS5Yes
New MexicoSNANo
ArizonaSNANo
TexasS5Yes
NevadaSNANo
MississippiS5Yes
LouisianaS5Yes
FloridaSNRYes
Roadless Areas (2)
Arizona (1)
AreaForestAcres
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
References (22)
  1. Bart, Henry L. (Tulane Museum of Natural History, Tulane University). 2001. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI in February 2000.
  2. Boschung, H. T., and R. L. Mayden. 2004. Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 960 pp.
  3. Breden, F., M. B. Ptacek, M. Rashed, D. Taphorn, and C. A. Figueiredo. 1999. Molecular phylogeny of the live-bearing fish genus <i>Poecilia</i> (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 12:95-104.
  4. Douglas, N. H. 1974. Freshwater fishes of Louisiana. Claitor's Publishing Division, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 443 pp.
  5. Felley, J. D., and G. L. Daniels. 1992. Life history of the sailfin molly (<i>Poecilia latipinna</i>) in two degraded waterways of southwestern Louisiana. Southwestern Naturalist 37:16-21.
  6. Hoehn, Theodore S. and D. Gray Bass (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)). 2000a. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, TNC. March 2000.
  7. Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
  8. Meffe, G. K., and F. F. Snelson, Jr., editors. 1989. Ecology and evolution of livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae). Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 453 pp.
  9. Menhinick, E. F. 1991. The freshwater fishes of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 227 pp.
  10. Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona. 293 pp.
  11. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  12. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  13. Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
  14. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
  15. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  16. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  17. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  18. Parenti, L. R. 1981. A phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of cyprinodontiform fishes (Teleostei, Atherinomorpha). Bulletin of the American Museum Natural History 168:335-557.
  19. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
  20. Ross, S. T., and W. M. Brenneman. 1991. Distribution of freshwater fishes in Mississippi. Freshwater Fisheries Report No. 108. D-J Project Completion Report F-69. Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and Parks. Jackson, Mississippi. 548 pp.
  21. Snelson, F. F., Jr. 1984. Seasonal maturation and growth of males in a natural population of <i>Poecilia latipinna</i>. Copeia 1984:252-255.
  22. Sublette, J. E., M. D Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 393 pp.