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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: Mexican molly
Synonyms and Other Names: (liberty molly).
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Distinguishing characteristics were given by Miller (1983). Miller (1983) provided a key to this species and other Poecilia found in Mexico. Photographs or illustrations appeared in Schultz and Miller (1971), Mills and Vevers (1982), Axelrod et al. (1985), Petrovicky (1988), Dawes (1991), Sakurai et al. (1993), and Wischnath (1993). This species is part of the P. sphenops complex (Rosen and Bailey 1963; Schultz and Miller 1971; Miller 1983). Formerly known as Mollienesia sphenops.
Size: 10 cm
Native Range: Atlantic Slope of eastern Mexico from north of Veracruz City to Guatemala (Miller 1983).
This species is known from southern California (St. Amant and Hoover 1969; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Dill and Cordone 1997); Florida (Courtenay et al. 1974); the Ruby River, Madison County, Montana (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.); and Rogers Spring, Nevada (Courtenay, personal communication).
Previously listed as established in Hawaii (Maciolek 1984); however, recent reports indicate those fish are actually a hybrid (Mundy 2005; see account for Poecilia sp.).
Means of Introduction: Introductions are due to escapes, intentional releases from fish farms, and releases by aquarists (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Dill and Cordone 1997).
Status: Locally established in Montana, and Nevada, and possibly Florida; reported from California.
Impact of Introduction: Introduced populations have adversely affected the Moapa dace Moapa coriacea and the White River springfish Crenichthys baileyi (both endangered species) and are a potential threat to other native fishes in the Pahranagat Valley, Nevada (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.).
Remarks: Some, conceivably all, of the records of this species in the United States may turn out to represent one of the other members of the P. sphenops species complex and not P. sphenops. For instance, the Hawaiian records of P. sphenops (Maciolek 1984) and that of P. mexicana (Devick 1991b) are now considered the same fish (Poecilia sp.; Mundy 2005). Similarly, Schoenherr (1979) reported taking P. sphenops from a canal northwest of the Salton Sea in California; however, according to Dill and Cordone (1997), later authors questioned the identification and therefore did not include P. sphenops in their listings of California fishes (e.g., Hubbs et al. 1979; Shapovalov et al. 1981). At least five members of the P. sphenops species complex have been reported from the United States (Courtenay and Hensley 1979a).
We are unaware of any voucher specimens.
Axelrod, H. R., W. E. Burgess, N. Pronek, and J. G. Walls. 1985. Dr. Axelrod's atlas of freshwater aquarium fishes. Tropical Fish Hobbyist Publications, Inc., Neptune City, NJ.
Courtenay, W. - Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL.
Courtenay, W. R., Jr., H. F. Sahlman, W. W. Miley, II, and D. J. Herrema. 1974. Exotic fishes in fresh and brackish waters of Florida. Biological Conservation 6(4):292-302.
Devick, W. S. 1991b. Patterns of introductions of aquatic organisms to Hawaiian freshwater habitats. Pages 189-213 in new directions in research, management and conservation of Hawaiian freshwater stream ecosystems. Proceedings of the 1990 symposium on freshwater stream biology and fisheries management, Division of Aquatic Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980 et seq. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, NC.
Maciolek, J. A. 1984. Exotic fishes in Hawaii and other islands of Oceania. Pages 131-161 in W. R. Courtenay, Jr., and J. R. Stauffer, Jr., editors. Distribution, biology, and management of exotic fishes. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Miller, R. R. 1983. Checklist and key to the mollies of Mexico (Pisces: Poecilidae, Poecilia, subgenus Mollienesia) Copeia 1983(3):817-822.
Mundy, B. C. 2005. Fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Museum Bulletins in Zoology, Number 6.
Petrovicky, I. 1988. Aquarium fish of the world. Hamlyn, London, England.
Rosen, D. E., and R. M. Bailey. 1963. The poeciliid fishes (Cyprinodontiformes), their structure, zoogeography, and systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 126:1-176.
St. Amant, J. A., and F. G. Hoover. 1969. Addition of Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor) to the California fauna. California Fish and Game 57(2):330-331.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Leo Nico and Pamela J. Schofield
Revision Date: 2/14/2006 Citation for this information:
Leo Nico and Pamela J. Schofield. 2009. Poecilia sphenops. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=864> Revision Date: 2/14/2006
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