Chiapas swordtail

Chiapas swordtail
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Actinopterygii
Order:Cyprinodontiformes
Family:Poeciliidae
Genus:Xiphophorus
Species: X. alvarezi
Binomial name
Xiphophorus alvarezi
D. E. Rosen, 1960

The Chiapas swordtail or upland swordtail (Xiphophorus alvarezi) is a species of livebearing freshwater fish of family Poeciliidae, and genus Xiphophorus. It is, therefore, in the same genus as the common platy and the swordtail. The Chiapas swordtail was discovered and first described by Donn E. Rosen in 1960, along with four other species of Xiphophorus. The Chiapas swordtail is restricted to eastern Chiapas in Mexico and adjacent parts of Guatemala.[1]

Description

Growing to a maximum length of around 7.5 cm, the females are larger in size than the male. The genus Xiphophorus is common in freshwater aquariums, though the Chiapas swordtail is not a marketed fish.

Ideal, suitable conditions for Chiapas swordtails include a water temperature of around 25 – 28 °C. These are obviously benthopelagic fish. Water pH should range from 7.2 to 8.1. They are quite resilient fish. They are often found in fast-flowing rivers. In nature, schools of more females than males are common, and enjoy dense aquatic foliage to give birth in. They reproduce quickly and prefer live foods and aquatic plants.

References

  1. ↑ Kang, J.H.; M. Schartl; R.B. Walter; A. Meyer (2013). "Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of all species of swordtails and platies (Pisces: Genus Xiphophorus) uncovers a hybrid origin of a swordtail fish, Xiphophorus monticolus, and demonstrates that the sexually selected sword originated in the ancestral lineage of the genus, but was lost again secondarily". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (25). doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-25.


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