Limia
Encyclopedia
Limia is a genus of livebearing
freshwater
fishes belonging to the cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae
, which includes other livebearers such as platys
, swordtails (genus Xiphophorous), guppies
and mollies
(genus Poecilia). Limias are found on the islands of the Greater Antilles
, with 22 species on Hispaniola
and single endemic species on the Cayman Islands
, Cuba
, and Jamaica
. Limias are popular in aquaria
among more advanced hobbyists.
, all of them are secondary division freshwater fish. This indicates the ancestors of all fish present on the islands at least had the ability to cross over shallow seas.
The second school of thought suggests freshwater fish in the Antilles are the descendants of mainland species that became isolated when some of the Greater Antilles split from the mainland. The virtual lack of freshwater fish fossils from the Antilles means this debate likely needs to be resolved through molecular evidence.
transfer. Because of the asymmetrical energy costs associated with internal fertilization, females in many Poeciliid species act as the choosy sex, with males exhibiting ornate coloration and morphology as well as elaborate courtship displays. Limias, however, mostly lack display or extreme sexual dimorphism
/dichromism. Of the known species, only the Humpback Limia (L. nigrofasciata), Perugia's Limia (L. Perugiae) and the Blackbelly or Jamaican Limia (L. melanogaster) have been found to exhibit male courtship displays.
The majority of limia species rely on sneak copulation, in which the male thrusts his gonopodium into the female's genital pore without a prior display. The consequence of this system of mating can be the undermining of female choice, halting the progression of sexual selection on male traits and in some cases inhibiting speciation
.
John Dawes in the UK, in his book Livebearing Fishes, reported a L. melanogaster x L. nigrofasciata hybrid male has been mated to female green sailfin molly. Two hybrid fry were obtained, one was raised to maturity, ending up as a molly-like fish swimming with its head up at an angle of 45 degrees and was unable to maintain an even keel. This hybrid fails to inseminate molly females provided and no further hybrid offspring resulted.
lists 21 species:
Ovoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch...
freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fishes belonging to the cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae
Poeciliidae
Poeciliidae is a family of fresh-water fish which are live-bearing aquarium fish . They belong to the order Cyprinodontiformes, tooth-carps, and include well-known aquarium fish such as the guppy, molly, platy, and swordtail...
, which includes other livebearers such as platys
Xiphophorus
Xiphophorus is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. 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...
, swordtails (genus Xiphophorous), guppies
Guppy
The guppy , also known as the millionfish, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. It is a small member of the Poeciliidae family [females long, males long] and like all other members of the family, is live-bearing....
and mollies
Sailfin molly
The sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna, is a species of fish, of the genus Poecilia. They inhabit fresh, brackish, and coastal waters from North Carolina to Texas and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.- Taxonomy :...
(genus Poecilia). Limias are found on the islands of the Greater Antilles
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
, with 22 species on Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
and single endemic species on the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Limias are popular in aquaria
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
among more advanced hobbyists.
Origin and evolution
Two schools of thought on the origin of the genus exist. The first suggests limias arose from colonization by a seawater-tolerant species that crossed over shallow waters from the North or South American mainland. The strongest evidence for this model is that of the approximately 60 species of freshwater fish in the AntillesAntilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
, all of them are secondary division freshwater fish. This indicates the ancestors of all fish present on the islands at least had the ability to cross over shallow seas.
The second school of thought suggests freshwater fish in the Antilles are the descendants of mainland species that became isolated when some of the Greater Antilles split from the mainland. The virtual lack of freshwater fish fossils from the Antilles means this debate likely needs to be resolved through molecular evidence.
Mating system
Fish in the genus Limia are lecithotrophic, meaning that there is pre-fertilization maternal provisioning in the form of yolked eggs. The female gives birth to live young, which have a higher chance of survival than eggs and earlier stage fry. Fertilization is achieved internally with the male's gonopodium, a modified anal fin used for spermSperm
The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
transfer. Because of the asymmetrical energy costs associated with internal fertilization, females in many Poeciliid species act as the choosy sex, with males exhibiting ornate coloration and morphology as well as elaborate courtship displays. Limias, however, mostly lack display or extreme sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
/dichromism. Of the known species, only the Humpback Limia (L. nigrofasciata), Perugia's Limia (L. Perugiae) and the Blackbelly or Jamaican Limia (L. melanogaster) have been found to exhibit male courtship displays.
The majority of limia species rely on sneak copulation, in which the male thrusts his gonopodium into the female's genital pore without a prior display. The consequence of this system of mating can be the undermining of female choice, halting the progression of sexual selection on male traits and in some cases inhibiting speciation
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages...
.
Hybrids
Fertile hybrids have been obtained between L. melanogaster and both L. nigrofasciata and L. vittata.John Dawes in the UK, in his book Livebearing Fishes, reported a L. melanogaster x L. nigrofasciata hybrid male has been mated to female green sailfin molly. Two hybrid fry were obtained, one was raised to maturity, ending up as a molly-like fish swimming with its head up at an angle of 45 degrees and was unable to maintain an even keel. This hybrid fails to inseminate molly females provided and no further hybrid offspring resulted.
Species
FishBaseFishBase
FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...
lists 21 species:
- Grand Cayman limia, Limia caymanensis Rivas & Fink, 1970.
- Tiburon Peninsula limia, Limia dominicensis (ValenciennesAchille ValenciennesAchille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
, 1846). - Blotched limia, Limia fuscomaculata Rivas, 1980.
- Garnier's limia, Limia garnieri Rivas, 1980.
- Largetooth limia, Limia grossidens Rivas, 1980.
- Limia heterandria Regan, 1913.
- Plain limia, Limia immaculata Rivas, 1980.
- Blackbelly limia, Limia melanogaster (Günther, 1866).
- Blackbanded limia, Limia melanonotata Nichols & Myers, 1923.
- Miragoane limia, Limia miragoanensis Rivas, 1980.
- Humpbacked limiaHumpbacked limiaThe humpbacked limia, Limia nigrofasciata, is a small fish of the family Poeciliidae....
, Limia nigrofasciata Regan, 1913. - Ornate limia, Limia ornata Regan, 1913.
- Few-rayed limia, Limia pauciradiata Rivas, 1980.
- Perugia's limiaPerugia's limiaPerugia's limia, Limia perugiae, is a small fish of the family Poeciliidae naturally found in streams in the Dominican Republic....
, Limia perugiae (Evermann & Clark, 1906). - Rivas's limia, Limia rivasi Franz & Burgess, 1983.
- Sulfur limia, Limia sulphurophila Rivas, 1980.
- Limia tridens (Hilgendorf, 1889).
- Varicolored limia, Limia versicolor (Günther, 1866).
- Cuban limia, Limia vittata (Guichenot, 1853).
- Yaguajal limia, Limia yaguajali Rivas, 1980.
- Striped limia, Limia zonata (Nichols, 1915).