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Poecilia reticulata

Iku Kai-namu

Guppy

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Guppy, Rainbow Fish, Millions Fish; German Guppy; French Queue de Voile

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Ika Kai-ramu (AT), Ika Kai-namu (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Carribean - n.South America; EXOTIC EXOTIC widely

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Recent, Naturalised. S.Group, common. PLUS: S.Group, common.; Freshwater, ponds - streams

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Biocontrol - released pre-1960

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++		P	P	P

Northern Group: ?
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1860
SYNONYMS: Acanthocephalus reticulatus; Girardinus reticulatus; Haridichthys reticulatus; Lebistes reticulatus; Poecilioides reticulatus; Poecilia reticulatus; Lebistes poeciloides; Lebistes poecilioides

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); PISCES; OSTEICHTHYES; Cyprinodontiformes; Cyprinodontoidei; POECILIIDAE, Poeciliinae

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Biocontrol - released pre-1960. Comments: Feed on small crustaceans, small insects, insect larvae, and algae. Used as a biocontrol of mosquito larvae.

GENERAL NOTE: Widely introduced to control mosquitoes, but in most cases reported to have little or no positive effect.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: 16 specimens, Karekare Swamp, 11/1994, G.McCormack, to Smithsonian as USNM341659, ID L.Parenti as Poecilia reticulata.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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