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Poecilia reticulata

Peters, 1859

Guppy

G5Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104127
Element CodeAFCNC04040
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
Included in order Cyprinodontiformes by Parenti (1981); formerly in order Atheriniformes.

See Breden et al. (1999) for a molecular phylogeny of POECILIA.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-09-20
Change Date1996-09-20
Range Extent Comments
Netherlands Antilles, and Venezuelan islands, Trinidad, and western Venezuela to Guyana. Present and likely introduced in Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, and Antigua (Burgess and Franz 1989). Introduced and established in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico (Sublette et al. 1990), Idaho and Wyoming (Courtenay et al. 1987), Texas, Alberta, possibly California and Florida (Lee et al. 1980), and elsewhere; generally uncommon.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Found in shallow, warm, weedy, marginal habitats (Minckley 1973). In U.S., introduced populations have been found in warm springs and canal systems.

Ecology

A natural mosquito-control agent. Populations reach very large numbers within native range. In Arizona, most stocks in Phoenix area die off in winter but are present the next year, probably due to subsequent releases (Minckley 1973).

Reproduction

See summary of literature on reproduction by Breder and Rosen (1966. Modes of Reproduction in Fishes) (Lee et al. 1980). Extremely high fecundity. Ovoviparous.
Other Nations (2)
United StatesNNA
ProvinceRankNative
New MexicoSNANo
IdahoSNANo
ArizonaSNANo
FloridaSNANo
WyomingSNANo
NevadaSNANo
TexasSNANo
CanadaNNA
Roadless Areas (2)
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Lemhi RangeSalmon-Challis National Forest308,533
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Virgin CanyonSanta Fe National Forest6,068
References (18)
  1. 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.
  2. Burgess, G. H., and R. Franz. 1989. Zoogeography of the Antillean freshwater fish fauna. Pages 263-304 in C. A. Woods, ed. Biogeography of the West Indies. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, Florida.
  3. Courtenay, W. R., Jr., et al. 1987. Records of exotic fishes from Idaho and Wyoming. Great Basin Nat. 47:523-526.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Metcalfe, C. D. 1989. Tests for predicting carcinogenicity in fish. Reviews in Aquatic Sciences 1(1):111-129.
  7. Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, Arizona. 293 pp.
  8. Moyle, P.B. 1973. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  9. Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
  10. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. Revised and expanded. University of California Press, Berkeley. xv + 502 pp.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Parenti, L. R. 1981. A phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of cyprinodontiform fishes (Teleostei, Atherinomorpha). Bulletin of the American Museum Natural History 168:335-557.
  17. 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.
  18. Sublette, J. E., M. D Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 393 pp.