The Poeciliidae are a family of freshwater fishes of the order Cyprinodontiformes, the tooth-carps, and include well-known live-bearing aquarium fish, such as the guppy, molly, platy, and swordtail. The original distribution of the family was the southeastern United States to north of Río de la Plata, Argentina, and Africa, including Madagascar. However, due to release of aquarium specimens and the widespread use of species of the genera Poecilia and Gambusia for mosquito control, poeciliids can today be found in all tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In addition, Poecilia and Gambusia specimens have been identified in hot springs pools as far north as Banff, Alberta.
Carpet sharks are sharks classified in the order Orectolobiformes. Sometimes the common name "carpet shark" is used interchangeably with "wobbegong", which is the common name of sharks in the family Orectolobidae. Carpet sharks have five gill slits, two spineless dorsal fins, and a small mouth that does not extend past the eyes. Many species have barbels.
Gambusia is a large genus of viviparous fish in the family Poeciliidae. Gambusia contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in brackish or saltwater habitats. The type species is the Cuban gambusia, G. punctata. The greatest species richness is in Mexico, Texas, and the Greater Antilles, but species are also found elsewhere in eastern and southern United States, The Bahamas, Central America, and Colombia. Gambusia species are often called topminnows or simply gambusias; they are also known as mosquitofish, which, however, refers more specifically to two species, G. affinis and G. holbrooki. These can be introduced into ponds to eat mosquito larvae. As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and frequently become invasive, threatening the local species. They are only occasionally kept in aquariums, due to their relative lack of color and the highly aggressive nature of the aforementioned mosquitofish species.
Xiphophorus is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. The many Xiphophorus species are all called either platyfish or swordtails. The type species is X. hellerii, the green swordtail. Platyfish and swordtails are live-bearers, meaning that they reproduce via internal fertilization. The name Xiphophorus derives from the Greek words ξίφος (dagger) and φόρος (bearer), referring to the gonopodium. All are small fishes, which reach maximum lengths of 3.5–16 cm (1.4–6.3 in) depending on the exact species.
The Gonostomatidae are a family of mesopelagic marine fish, commonly named bristlemouths, lightfishes, or anglemouths. It is a relatively small family, containing only eight known genera and 32 species. However, bristlemouths make up for their lack of diversity with numbers: Cyclothone, with 12 species, is thought to be the most abundant vertebrate genus in the world, numbering in the hundreds of trillions to quadrillions.
Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ophis ("serpent") and ichthys ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels, they are named for their physical appearance, they have long, cylindrical snakelike bodies. This family is found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate waters. They inhabit a wide range of habitats, from coastal shallows and even rivers, to depths of above 800 m (2,600 ft). Most species are bottom dwellers, hiding in mud or sand to capture their prey of crustaceans and small fish, but some are pelagic.
Fundulus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the superfamily Funduloidea, family Fundulidae. It belongs to the order of toothcarps (Cyprinodontiformes), and therein the large suborder Cyprinodontoidei. Most of its closest living relatives are egg-laying, with the notable exception of the splitfin livebearers (Goodeidae).
Liza is a genus of mullets from the family Mugilidae. Recent work has suggested that the genus is paraphyletic and its species should be placed in the resurrected genus Planiliza while others should be classified in the traditional genera Mugil and Chelon. Liza is derived from the Spanish word for a grey mullet.
Clinus is a genus of clinids found in the southeastern Atlantic and western Indian ocean.
Zaniolepis is a genus of scorpaeniform fish native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. Z. frenata is known to have been a source of food to the Native American inhabitants of San Nicolas Island off the coast of southern California, United States during the Middle Holocene.
Acanthomorpha is an extraordinarily diverse taxon of teleost fishes with spiny-rays. The clade contains about one third of the world's modern species of vertebrates: over 14,000 species.
Heterandria is a genus of livebearing fishes within the family Poeciliidae. Most species occur in Guatemala and its surroundings, particularly Mexico, but the midget livebearer (H. formosa) comes from the southeastern United States.
Hemiscyllium is a genus of sharks in the family Hemiscylliidae.
Iso is an Indo-Pacific genus of silversides, commonly called surf sardines, the only genus in the monogeneric family Isonidae, they were formerly classified in the family Notocheiridae alongside the surf silverside but they are now thought to be within the suborder Atherinoidei while the surf silverside is classified in the suborder Atherinopsoidei, along with the Neotropical silversides. It contains five species to date, the first of which was described in 1895.
Brachyrhaphis is a genus of poeciliids native to freshwater habitats in Central America. Most are restricted to Panama and Costa Rica, but B. holdridgei also occurs in Nicaragua and B. hartwegi is from Mexico and Guatemala. A recent phylogenetic analysis has suggested that Brachyrhaphis may not be of a monophyletic group.
Carlhubbsia is a genus of poeciliids native to Guatemala and Mexico.
Phallichthys is a genus of poeciliids native to Central America.
Penetopteryx is a genus of pipefishes.
Poeciliinae is a subfamily of killifish from the family Poeciliidae which contains species from the Americas which are collectively known as the livebearers because mant, but not all, of the species within the subfamily are ovoviviparous.
Pseudoxiphophorus is a genus of fish from the family Poeciliidae. The species in the genus were formerly considered to be in the genus Heterandria but workers found that most of the species were not closely related to the type species of that genus, Heterandria formosa, and seven sspecies were transferred to the genus Pseudoxiphophorus. They are found in Central America.
