Poecilia latipinna

22. Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821), Exotic

Fig. 52

Etymology: Poecilia: Greek, poikilos = with a lot of colours; latipinna: from the Latin word latus (stem lat), meaning wide, broad, and pinna for fin.

Common name: Sailfin Molly.

Taxonomy: Mollienesia tipinna was originally described by Lesueur [C. A.] 1821:3, pl. 3 [Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia v. 2 (pt 1)] from freshwater ponds in the vicinity of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Lectotype: MNHN B-0929. Paralectotypes: MNHN 2019-0187 [ex MNHN B-0929] (7).

Synonyms: Poecilia lineolata Girard [C. F.] 1858:170 [Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 10. Limia matamorensis Girard [C. F.] 1859:117 [Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 11. Poecilia multilineata Lesueur [C. A.] 1821:4, Pl. 1 [Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia v. 2 (pt 1). Limia poeciloides Girard [C. F.] 1858:170 [Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 10.

Short description: Male with large sail-like dorsal fin having 12–16 fin rays, dorsal-fin origin in front of vertical of pelvic-fin origin. The Mexican Molly Poecilia sphenops, another introduced fish to the Arabian Peninsula has a dorsal fin with usually 9 rays, not forming a sail and dorsal-fin origin behind vertical of pelvic-fin origin.

General distribution: North America: southeastern U.S.A. to Tuxpan, Mexico; introduced widely elsewhere.

Distribution in Oman: Al Bahayes and Al-Amarat (Al Amirat), Muscat Governorate (Fig. 53). Both Wadi Al-Bahayes and Al-Amarat are richly vegetated, with the former being flat brackish water body and the latter is a mountainous area (see Al Jufaili & Jawad, 2020).

Remarks: Among the methods of introducing an alien species is the aquarium trade, which proves to be the eminent introduction pathway. Both Wadi Al-Bahayes and Al-Amarat where the fish specimens collected have aquarium shops that deal with freshwater fish species of all sorts. There are two possibilities for the presence of P. latipinna in the inland waters of Oman. First, the fish may have been released to any of these two localities by ornamental fish hobbyist. Second, specimens of P. latipinna may have been mixed with fish specimens brought from neighboring countries in an aim to combat mosquitos that transmit malaria. This introduction was made by the Ministry of Health in Oman during the early 1990s (Al Jufaili & Jawad 2020).

Examined material: ZM-CBSU: O003. Pl 101, 9, Oman: Al Bahayes, 23°40ʹ38ʹʹN, 58°11ʹ34ʹʹE, H. R. Esmaeili, S.M. Al-Jufaili, A.H. Masoumi, Apr. 2022.