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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Cyprinodon tularosa

White Sands Pupfish
Federal: Under Review NS G1
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontidae (Pupfishes) Cyprinodon Cyprinodon tularosa (White Sands Pupfish)

Description

This species account was compiled from FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: Elongated.

Distribution

North America: found only in Tularosa Valley in New Mexico, USA.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater, brackish. benthopelagic.

Biology

Occurs in clear, shallow spring-fed marsh pools and saline creek (Ref. 5327). Not a seasonal killifish. Is difficult to maintain in aquarium (Ref. 27139).
Max length: 5.0 cm TL; common length: 3.3 cm TL; max age: 5 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders; parental care: none.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered (EN), assessed 2011-11-23.

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.

References

Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Riehl, R. and H.A. Baensch (1991) Aquarien Atlas. Band. 1. Melle: Mergus, Verlag für Natur-und Heimtierkunde, Germany. 992 p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p.
Huber, J.H. (1996) Killi-Data 1996. Updated checklist of taxonomic names, collecting localities and bibliographic references of oviparous Cyprinodont fishes (Atherinomorpha, Pisces). Société Française d'Ichtyologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, 399 p.

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