Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859

Eastern mosquitofish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Cyprinodontiformes \| Poeciliidae \| Poeciliinae
Synonyms	Gambusia affinis holbrooki, Gambusia patruelis holbrooki, Heterandria holbrooki, ... more
Common names	Eastern gambusia, Eastern mosquito fish, Gambuzie, ... more

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Image of Gambusia holbrooki (Eastern mosquitofish)

Picture by Delgado Saez, J.A.

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Main reference

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 1991. (Ref. 5723)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 3.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1672); 8 cm TL (female)

Environment

Benthopelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; pH range: 6.0 - 8.8; dH range: ? - 40

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 15°C - 35°C (Ref. 13371); 40°N - 31°N, 89°W - 74°W

North America: Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages from New Jersey south to Alabama in USA. Introduced to many countries for mosquito control, but had rare to non-existing effects on mosquitoes, and negative to perhaps neutral impact on native fishes (Ref. 12217). At least one country reports adverse ecological impact after introduction.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 9

Inhabits warm, still waters typically seen shoaling at the edges of streams and lakes (Ref. 44894). Feeds on small terrestrial insects usually in the drift and amongst aquatic plants, actively selecting very small prey (Ref. 6154). Feeds also on mosquito larvae (Ref. 41168). Probably introduced to Australia during the 1920s, firstly as aquarium pets, but were soon released widely into native waters to control mosquito populations. It is now widely accepted that their effect has been minimal and even may have exacerbated the problem due to their voracious appetite for natural invertebrate predators of mosquito larvae (Ref. 44894).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Potential pest

Human uses
Aquarium: commercial


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 0.5000

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm<1; multiple spawning per year)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low vulnerability (24 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Ortañez, Auda Kareen

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