Xenotoca

Xenotoca
Xenotoca eiseni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Goodeidae
Subfamily: Goodeinae
Genus: Xenotoca
C. L. Hubbs & C. L. Turner, 1939
Type species
Characodon variatus
Bean, 1887[1]

Xenotoca is a genus of fish in the family Goodeidae from Mexico, where various species are found in a wide range of habitats, from rivers and creeks to pools and lakes, in the LermaGrande de Santiago, Panuco, Cuitzeo and other basins of the Mesa Central. While no goodeid is a very common aquarium fish, the redtail splitfin (X. eiseni), is one of the most common aquarium goodeids; its bright colors offset its reputation for being aggressive towards and occasionally even killing tankmates.[2] Similarly to X. eiseni, two species described in 2016 have males with red-orange tails, but this feature is not shared by the remaining members of the genus.[3] All Xenotoca species are relatively small, reaching up to 9 cm (4 in) in standard length.[4]

Species

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X. doadrioi was only scientifically described in 2016 (it was formerly considerec a variant of X. eiseni). Like the other "redtails", only the male has a red-orange tail

There are currently five recognized species in this genus,[3][5] but two possibly undescribed species, tentatively referred to as Xenotoca cf. melanosoma and Xenotoca cf. variata, are known.[6][7]

Genetic work has shown that the genus, as currently defined, is not monophyletic: The type species X. variata is distantly related to the remaining, which could eventually be reallocated to their own genus.[3] Phylogenic research by Shane Webb showed that the closest relative of X. variata is the butterfly goodeid, Ameca splendens.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Xenotoca". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Xenotoca eiseni". SeriouslyFish. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Domínguez-Domínguez, O.; Bernal-Zuñiga, D.M.; Piller, K.R. (2016). "Two new species of the genus Xenotoca Hubbs and Turner, 1939 (Teleostei, Goodeidae) from central-western Mexico". Zootaxa. 4189 (1): 81–98. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4189.1.3. PMID 27988757.
  4. ^ "Xenotoca variata". Goodeid Working Group. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  5. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Xenotoca". FishBase. August 2012 version.
  6. ^ ""Xenotoca" cf. melanosoma". Goodeid Working Group. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. ^ ""Xenotoca" cf. variata". Goodeid Working Group. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  8. ^ Webb, Shane A.; Graves, Jefferson A.; Macias-Garcia, Constantino; Magurran, Anne E.; Foighill, Diarmaid O.; Ritchie, Michael G. (March 2004). "Molecular phylogeny of the livebearing Goodeidae (Cyprinodontiformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 30 (3): 527–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00257-4. PMID 15012937. Retrieved 2023-06-01.