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A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity

Poecilia butleri

Pacific Molly
Collection Details

Specimens

Photos

There are no photos available for this taxon yet.

Records

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Cyprinodontiformes Poeciliidae (Livebearers) Poecilia Poecilia butleri (Pacific Molly)

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

Central America: Mexico to Panama.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. benthopelagic.

Biology

Found in a wide variety of standing and flowing waters, but prefers those with dense algal growth and other aquatic vegetation.
Max length: 7.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). Produces 20 to 60 young after a gestation period of 28 days.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-03-15. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.

References

Wischnath, L. (1993) Atlas of livebearers of the world. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., United States of America. 336 p.
Lucinda, P.H.F. (2003) Poeciliidae (Livebearers). p. 555-581. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brazil.

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