Stats

Lifespan: 1-3 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: School
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Swimming
Breeding: Live Birth
Defense: Speed
Status: Uncommon

About

A small livebearing freshwater fish native to the southern United States, now one of the most widely introduced fish on Earth due to its voracious appetite for mosquito larvae. Females can store sperm from a single mating and produce multiple broods of live young months later.

Life cycle

1.
hatchling fry
A tiny fry hatches with a yolk sac and begins free-swimming once the sac is absorbed.
2.
juvenile
A juvenile takes on adult body shape and feeds on small prey, often in nursery waters.
3.
adult
Fully grown at adult size and coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Poeciliidae
Genus: Gambusia
Species: Gambusia affinis