The boxer pupfish (Cyprinodon simus) is a small species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae.[2] It is endemic to Lake Chichancanab in Quintana Roo, Mexico.[1][3]

Boxer pupfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Cyprinodontidae
Genus: Cyprinodon
Species:
C. simus
Binomial name
Cyprinodon simus

In almost all places, different Cyprinodon species do not overlap in their range, but there are two notable exceptions and one of these is Lake Chichancanab, which is inhabited by C. simus, C. beltrani, C. esconditus, C. labiosus, C. maya, C. suavium and C. verecundus (the other place where several Cyprinodon species live together are lakes in San Salvador Island, the Bahamas). Living together, the Cyprinodon species in Lake Chichancanab have diverged into different niches. Pupfish typically feed on algae and detritus. In Lake Chichancanab, however, C. simus has become a zooplankton-feeder.[3] It once occurred in large schools, but has declined drastically due primarily to introduced species (Nile tilapia and the tetra Astyanax fasciatus). Among the endemic Cyprinodon species in Lake Chichancanab, only C. beltrani and C. labiosus still occur in some numbers in their habitat, while the remaining are virtually—if not fully—extinct in the wild (at least some of these, including C. simus, still survive in captivity).[3][4] However, a specimen of C. simus was recorded in the wild in 2009.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Contreras MacBeath, T.; Schmitter-Soto, J. (2019). "Cyprinodon simus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T6167A3107162. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T6167A3107162.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Cyrinodon simus". FishBase. August 2019 version.
  3. ^ a b c Martin, C.; P.C. Wainwright (2011). "Trophic novelty is linked to exceptional rates of morphological diversification in two adaptive radiations of Cyprinodon pupfish". Evolution. 65 (8): 2197–2212. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01294.x. PMID 21790569. S2CID 23695342.
  4. ^ Strecker, U. (2006). "The impact of invasive fish on an endemic Cyprinodon species flock (Teleostei) from Laguna Chichancanab, Yucatan, Mexico". Ecology of Freshwater Fish. 15 (4): 408–418. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0633.2006.00159.x. S2CID 56230830.
  5. ^ Ceballos, G.; E.D. Pardo; L.M. Estévez; H.E. Pérez, eds. (2016). Los peces dulceacuícolas de México en peligro de extinción. Fondo de Cultura Económic. pp. 366–367. ISBN 978-607-16-4087-1.