Cyprinodon
| Cyprinodon | |
|---|---|
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| Death Valley pupfish (C. salinus) spawning | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Cyprinodontidae |
| Genus: |
Cyprinodon Lacépède, 1803 |
| Type species | |
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Cyprinodon variegatus Lacépède, 1803 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cyprinodon is a genus of small pupfishes found in fresh, brackish and salt water. The genus is primarily found in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and southern United States (Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas), but C. variegatus occurs as far north as Massachusetts and along the entire Gulf of Mexico coastline, C. artifrons occurs in Belize, and C. dearborni and C. variegatus are found in northern South America.
While most species have separate distributions, six (C. beltrani, C. labiosus, C. maya, C. simus, C. suavium and C. verecundus) are endemic in Lake Chichancanab in Quintana Roo, Mexico, and two (C. brontotheroides and C. desquamator) are endemic to the hypersaline lakes on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.
Most species in the genus have very small distributions and many are seriously threatened. C. ceciliae, C. inmemoriam, C. latifasciatus and an undescribed species popularly known as the "Perrito de Sandia" are already extinct, while C. alvarezi and C. longidorsalis only survive in captivity.
Cyprinodon are small; the largest reaches 10 cm (3.9 in) in length and most other species only reach half that.
There are currently 49 recognized species in this genus:
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Wikipedia