Poecilia - Definition and Overview

Poecilia Bloch & Schneider, 1801, is a genus of freshwater fish in family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The type species is P. vivipara. Live-bearers, the Poecilia species are collectively known as mollies, with the exception of the famous guppy (P. reticulata).

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

The generic name Poecilia derives from the Greek ποικίλος (variegated), in reference to the fishes' coloration.

Species

• Poecilia butleri - Pacific Molly
  
• Poecilia catemaconis - Catemaco Molly
  
• Poecilia chica - Dwarf Molly
  
• Poecilia elegans - Elegant Molly
  
• Poecilia formosa - Amazon Molly
  
• Poecilia latipinna - Sailfin Molly
  
• Poecilia latipunctata - Broadspotted Molly
  
• Poecilia mexicana - Shortfin Molly
  
• Poecilia orri - Mangrove Molly
  
• Poecilia petenensis - Peten Molly
  
• Poecilia reticulata - Guppy
  
• Poecilia sphenops - Molly
  
• Poecilia teresae - Mountain Molly
  
• Poecilia velifera - Sail-fin Molly
  

References

• "Poecilia." ITIS Standard Report. (Integrated Taxonomic Information System: National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 2004-06-08). ITIS 165897 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=165897)
• "Poecilia." FishBase. ed. Froese, R. and D. Pauly (04/2004), Poecilia (http://www.fishbase.org/Eschmeyer/GeneraSummary.cfm?ID=Poecilia)