Pecos gambusia
Encyclopedia
The Pecos gambusia is a species of fish
in the Poeciliidae
family. It is endemic to the Pecos River
in Texas
and New Mexico in the United States
. This two-inch species, as most of the family, is a live bearer. Females produce broods of up to 40 fry every four to five days. The fish are omnivorous, eating algae and small invertebrates, and are endangered due to loss of their spring-fed desert habitat.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
in the 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...
family. It is endemic to the Pecos River
Pecos River
The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and New Mexico in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This two-inch species, as most of the family, is a live bearer. Females produce broods of up to 40 fry every four to five days. The fish are omnivorous, eating algae and small invertebrates, and are endangered due to loss of their spring-fed desert habitat.