Livebearers are fish that retain their eggs inside the body and give birth to live, free-swimming young. They are especially prized by aquarium owners. Among aquarium fish, livebearers are nearly all members of the family Poeciliidae and include: guppies, mollies, platies and swordtails.
Poecilia is a genus of fishes in the family Poeciliidae of the order Cyprinodontiformes. These livebearers are native to fresh, brackish and salt water in the Americas, and some species in the genus are euryhaline. A few have adapted to living in waters that contain high levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide and a population of P. mexicana lives in caves.
The sailfin molly is a livebearer fish typically found in both freshwater and brackish waterways along the East Coast of the United States, from North Carolina south to Florida, and around the Gulf of Mexico to Texas, and south to the Yucatán Peninsula of México. Given their preference for more brackish water conditions, mollies are often found within just a few yards or miles of the ocean, inhabiting coastal estuaries, lagoons, river deltas and swamps, as well as tidal areas with a regular inflow of oceanic minerals and nutrients mixing with inland freshwater sources.
Cumaná is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located 402 kilometres (250 mi) east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South America. Its early history includes several successful counters by the indigenous people of the area who were attempting to prevent Spanish incursion into their land, resulting in the city being refounded several times. The municipality of Sucre, which includes the capital city, Cumaná, had a population of 358,919 at the 2011 Census; the latest estimate is 423,546.
Limia is a genus of livebearing fishes belonging to the Cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae, which includes other livebearers such as platys, swordtails, guppies and mollies. They are found in fresh and brackish water. Of the 21 described Limia species, 17 are endemic to Hispaniola, one is found on both Hispaniola and Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Venezuela have an endemic species each. Limia are popular in aquaria among more advanced hobbyists.
The Cauca molly is a freshwater fish in the family Poeciliidae. This fish is found in Panama, Venezuela, and Colombia, where it lives in shallow waters in the basins of the Lebrija, Magdalena, Cauca and other rivers. P. caucana eats mosquito larvae and algae.
Poecilia velifera, known as the Yucatan molly and also as the giant sailfin molly amongst aquarists, is a large livebearer that lives in coastal waters of the Yucatan Peninsula. These live-bearer (Poeciliidae) fish are particularly well known for both the extreme size variation among males, and the sexual dimorphism between males and females in both body shape and behavior.
Micropoecilia is a genus of poeciliids native to fresh and brackish water from the Amazon Basin to Trinidad. While recognized as valid by FishBase, others have considered this genus as being synonymous with Poecilia.
Heterandria formosa is a species of livebearing fish within the family Poeciliidae. This is the same family that includes familiar aquarium fishes such as guppies and mollies. Heterandria formosa is not as commonly kept in aquaria as these species. Despite the common name "least killifish", it belongs to the family Poeciliidae and not to one of the killifish families. H. formosa is one of the smallest fish species; the 1991 Baensch Aquarium Atlas listed it as the 7th smallest fish in the world, and as of 2006 it remains the smallest fish species found in North America.
John Arthur Endler is a Canadian ethologist and evolutionary biologist noted for his work on the adaptation of vertebrates to their unique perceptual environments, and the ways in which animal sensory capacities and colour patterns co-evolve.
The guppy, also known as millionfish or the rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, like almost all American members of the family, is live-bearing. Guppies originate from northeast South America, but have been introduced to many environments and are now found all over the world. They are highly adaptable and thrive in many different environmental and ecological conditions. Male guppies, which are smaller than females, have ornamental caudal and dorsal fins. Wild guppies generally feed on a variety of food sources, including benthic algae and aquatic insect larvae. Guppies are used as a model organism in the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavioural studies.
The liberty molly is a fish species from El Salvador. It is one of the short fin molly species in the Poecilia sphenops complex, and had been often regarded as synonymous with P. sphenops until recently.
Poeciliinae is a subfamily of killifish from the family Poeciliidae which contains species from the Americas which are collectively known as the livebearers because many, but not all, of the species within the subfamily are ovoviviparous.
The Poeciliini is a tribe of killifishes from the "livebearer" family Poeciliidae, consisting of six genera and just over 100 species.
Limia melanogaster, the black-bellied or blue limia, is a poeciliid fish from Jamaica. It inhabits fast-flowing streams. It is a rare livebearer in modern fishkeeping.
Poecilia kykesis, also known as the Usumacinta molly, Petén molly, spiketail molly, or swordtail molly, is a poeciliid fish species native to the fresh and brackish waters of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It belongs to the sailfin molly clade, with males exhibiting an enlarged dorsal fin. The species has a notably controversial naming history, with the former name, Poecilia petenensis, now referring to a short-finned molly species. It is a livebearer sometimes kept in aquaria.
Poecilia catemaconis, the bicolor molly, is a livebearer fish from Mexico.
Poecilia vivipara, sometimes called the southern molly, is a small euryhaline livebearer fish distributed along the Atlantic coast of South America. It is most frequently found in standing brackish water. It has been introduced outside its native range to control mosquito populations and is occasionally kept in home aquariums.
Poecilia picta, the swamp guppy, is a species of livebearer fish found in South America. It is closely related to the common guppy, P. reticulata, and shares its geographic range but tends to be found in more brackish environments.
Poecilia vandepolli, or Van de Poll's molly, is a poeciliid fish native to the Lesser Antilles. A euryhaline species, it is one of the most common fish in its range, inhabiting fresh, brackish, salt, and hypersaline waters. The fish vary significantly in size and color.
