The Cuban gambusia, spotted gambusia or blue gambusia (Gambusia punctata)[2] is a species of freshwaterfish. It is a member of the familyPoeciliidae of orderCyprinodontiformes, and is the type species of its genus.[3] It is native to Cuba, inhabiting lakes, ponds and streams, including mountain streams. A carnivorous surface feeder, it occurs in shoals near the shoreline. It be found in estuarine habitat.[1][4]
This species has the terminal, upward-facing mouth typical of surface feeders, and a protruding belly. It has four or five rows of darkly spotted scales, possibly forming a dark lateral stripe in the case of the midline row. The dorsal and caudal fins are typically partially spotted.[4]Males reach a maximum standard length (SL) of around 4.8 cm, with females reaching about 7.0 cm.[5] Record SL for this species is 10 cm.[1]
^ abGarcía-Machado, Erik; Ponce de Léon, José L.; Gutiérrez-Costa, María A.; Michel-Salzat, Alice; Germon, Isabelle; Casane, Didier (2020). "Phylogeographic evidence that the distribution of cryptic euryhaline species in the Gambusia punctata species group in Cuba was shaped by the archipelago geological history". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 144. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106712. Art. No. 106712.
^Lara, Ariagna; Ponce de León, José Luis; Rodríguez, Rodet; Casane, Didier; Côte, Guillaume; Bernatchez, Louis; García-Machado, Erik (2010). "DNA barcoding of Cuban freshwater fishes: evidence for cryptic species and taxonomic conflicts". Molecular Ecology Resources. 10 (3): 421–430. doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2009.02785.x.
