Green swordtail
Green swordtail | |
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Wild type male of Xiphophorus hellerii | |
Xiphophorus hellerii, captive-bred red variant, male (top) and female (below) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
Family: | Poeciliidae |
Genus: | Xiphophorus |
Species: | X. hellerii
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Binomial name | |
Xiphophorus hellerii Heckel, 1848
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The green swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii) is a
Description
The male green swordtail grows to a maximum overall length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) and the female to 16 centimetres (6.3 in). The name 'swordtail' is derived from the elongated lower lobe of the male's
The green swordtail prefers swift-flowing, heavily vegetated rivers and streams, but is also found in warm springs and canals. Omnivorous, its diet includes both plants and small crustaceans, insects, and annelid worms.
Invasive species
X. hellerii has become a nuisance pest as an
Etymology and taxonomy
The
Aquarium fish
One of the most popular
X. hellerii is a common laboratory animal and has been used as a model organism in studies involving female mate preference[8] and male conflict.[9]
It is often designated X. helleri (with one 'i'), but authorities consider this an orthographic error and the spelling with two 'i's to be the valid specific epithet. It is named after
The males' elongated caudal fins have been found to significantly affect their chances at mating. The presence of a well-endowed male spurs the maturity of females, while it inhibits the maturity of juvenile males in the vicinity of the well-endowed male.[10][11][12]
Breeding
Swordtails are some of the easiest fish for amateur aquarist to breed, if the conditions of the tank are appropriate and it contains both males and females reproduction will occur without intervention. Often all female groups which have come from a mixed gender tank will be pregnant on arrival, creating a breeding population when the fry sexually mature at around three months of age.
Plants and other structure in the aquarium will offer fry a place to hide after birth. This is important as newborn fry will be eaten by other aquarium inhabitants if they cannot find shelter.
Gallery
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Cultivated form of X. hellerii
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Fry
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Xiphophorus hellerii" in FishBase. November 2013 version.
- ^ Axelrod, Dr. Herbert R., Wischnath, Lothar, Swordtails and Platies, Neptune, N.J., T.F.H. Publications Inc., Copyright 1991
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (26 October 2019). "Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families POECILIIDAE, ANABLEPIDAE, VALENCIIDAE, APHANIIDAE and PROCATOPODIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Xiphophorus helleri". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Xiphophorus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- ^ Edmond, Adam (11 March 2017). "Swordtail Fish Care Guide". The Aquarium Guide. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- S2CID 54382421.
- S2CID 16699266.
- ^ "In the science of sexual attraction, size matters". Yahoo! Science News. Yahoo! Inc. 2007-02-13. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ Choi, Charles Q. (2007-02-13). "Male Bling Makes Female Fish Mature Faster". LiveScience Animaldomain. Imaginova Corp. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ Choi, Charles Q. (2007-02-13). "Male Bling Makes Female Fish Mature Faster". Yahoo! Science News. Yahoo!, Inc.
- ^ "Swordtail Fish Breed Information and Pictures". PetGuide. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
- ^ "Swordtail Fish Care Guide". The Aquarium Guide. 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
External links
- Media related to Xiphophorus hellerii at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Xiphophorus hellerii at Wikispecies
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2004). "Xiphophorus hellerii" in FishBase. October 2004 version.
- "Xiphophorus hellerii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 December 2004.
- Xiphophorus hellerii profile with photographs of various strains on Fishes N Inverts Archived 2012-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Xiphophorus hellerii gallery with photographs of various strains on Fishes N Inverts Archived 2020-11-25 at the Wayback Machine