Poecilia — Overview

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Molly (fish)

"Mollies" redirects here. For other uses, see Mollies (disambiguation).

Mollies (Poecilia) are a genus of fish in family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes.[1] They are native to fresh, brackish and salt water in the Americas, and some species in the genus are euryhaline. Live-bearers, the Poecilia species are collectively known as mollies, with the exception of Endler's livebearer (P. wingei) and the famous guppy (P. reticulata). It has been proposed that the genus Micropoecilia should be included as a sub-genus of Poecilia.[2]

Contents

Aquaria

Along with their platy cousins, the mollies are part of a pivotal aquaculture group of livebearers, which can live in water from fresh to fully marine, and a wide range of other conditions. They feed on smaller insects, animals, and vegetation.

IUCN list two of the species, the sulphur molly, P. sulphuraria, and the broadspotted molly, P. latipunctata, as Critically Endangered.

The generic name Poecilia derives from the Greek ποικίλος (variegated), in reference to the fishes' coloration. Mollies need to live in water that is 25 to 28 °C (77 to 82 °F).

Mollies come in several different colors and spot patterns, such as black, white, black and white spots, orange, orange and white spots.

Mollies have been kept successfully in freshwater, brackish, and saltwater conditions, although the last is not recommended for the novice aquarist.

Species

There are currently 40 recognized species in this genus: [3][4]

  • A Male Dalmation Sailfin Molly in a Community Aquarium

  • Black Male Molly

  • Community Tank containing other members of the poecilia family: Guppy & Platy

References

  1. ^ "Poecilia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved June 8, 2006. 
  2. ^ Bragança, P. H. N. and W. J. E. M. Costa (2011): Poecilia sarrafae, a new poeciliid from the Paraíba and Mearim river basins, northeastern Brazil (Cyprinodontiformes: Cyprinodontoidei). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters v. 21 (no. 4) [Dec. 2010]: 369–376.
  3. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). Species of Poecilia in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  4. ^ a b Poeser, F.N. (2013): Apropos Guppys... viviparos, Das Lebendgebärenden Magazin, (11) 1: 36-40, 56. (In German)
  5. ^ Manfred K. Meyer, Alfred C. Radda, Manfred Schartl, Klaus Schneider & Brigitta Wilde (November 2004). "A new species of Poecilia, subgenus Mollienesia, from upper río Cahabón system, Guatemala, with remarks on the Nomenclature of Mollienesia petenensis Günther, 1866 (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae)". Zoologische Abhandlungen 54: 145–154. ISSN 0375-5231. 
  6. ^ Fred N. Poeser, Michael Kempkes, Isaac J. H. Isbrücker (2005). "Description of Poecilia (Acanthophacelus) wingei n. sp. from the Paria Peninsula, Venezuela, including notes on Acanthophacelus Eigenmann, 1907 and other subgenera of Poecilia Bloch and Schneider, 1801 (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes, Poecilidae)". Contributions to Zoology 74: 97–115. 

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