Gambusia

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = G Sexradiata Female (125598807).jpeg

| image_caption =Gambusia sexradiata

| taxon = Gambusia

| authority = Poey, 1854

| type_species = Gambusia punctata

| type_species_authority = Poey, 1854{{Cof record|genid=2245|title=Gambusia|access-date=1 November 2019}}

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

| synonyms = *Arthrophallus C.L. Hubbs, 1926

• Dicerophallus J. Álvarez, 1952
• Flexipenis C.L. Hubbs, 1963
• Heterophallina C.L. Hubbs, 1926
• Heterophallus C.T. Regan, 1914{{efn|Heterophallus is a valid genus}}
• Orthophallus L.R. Rivas, 1963
• Paragambusia Meek, 1904
• Schizophallus C.L. Hubbs, 1926
• Toluichthys Dahl, 1964

| synonyms_ref = {{Cof family|family=Poeciliidae|access-date=1 November 2019}}

}}

Gambusia is a large genus of viviparous fish in the family Poeciliidae (order Cyprinodontiformes). Gambusia contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in brackish or saltwater habitats. The genus Gambusia comes from the Cuban term, "Gambusino", which means "free-lance miner".{{Cite book |last=Wallus |first=Robert |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23153067 |title=Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage |date=1990 |publisher=Tennessee Valley Authority, Aquatic Biology Dept., Water Resources |others=Bruce L. Yeager, Thomas P. Simon, Tennessee Valley Authority. Aquatic Biology Department, Tennessee Valley Authority. Office of Power, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Nashville District, American Electric Power Service Corporation |isbn=0-8493-1919-6 |location=Chattanooga, Tenn. |oclc=23153067}} The type species is the Cuban gambusia, G. punctata. The greatest species richness is in Mexico, Texas, and the Greater Antilles, but species are also found elsewhere in the eastern and southern United States, the Bahamas, Central America, and Colombia. Gambusia species are often called topminnows, or simply gambusias; they are also known as mosquitofish, which, however, refers more specifically to two species, G. affinis and G. holbrooki, which are often introduced into ponds to eat mosquito larvae.{{cite web|url=http://www.alabamavms.org/gambusia.htm |title=Gambusia: A Little Fish That Helps Solve Big Mosquito Problems |publisher=Alabama Vector Management Society |date=24 December 2009 |access-date=10 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907213211/http://www.alabamavms.org/gambusia.htm |archive-date=September 7, 2008 }}{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Greg |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/06/10/137056759/tropical-disease-buzzes-back-into-u-s |title=Tropical Disease Buzzes Back Into U.S. |publisher=NPR |work=Morning Edition |date=10 June 2011 |access-date=10 June 2011}} As a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and frequently become invasive, threatening local species.Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (2013). [http://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/gambusia_affinis/ Gambusia affinis (Mosquito fish)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407054849/https://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/gambusia_affinis/ |date=2018-04-07 }}. Retrieved 27 February 2013 G. affinis and G. holbrooki are now established in many parts of the world and are likely to continue to spread as climatic conditions change.{{Cite journal|last1=Jourdan|first1=Jonas|last2=Riesch|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Cunze|first3=Sarah|title=Off to new shores: Climate niche expansion in invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia spp.)|journal=Ecology and Evolution|volume=11|pages=18369–18400|doi=10.1002/ece3.8427|year=2021|issue=24 |pmid=35003679 |pmc=8717293|bibcode=2021EcoEv..1118369J }} They are only occasionally kept in aquariums, due to their relative lack of color and the highly aggressive nature of the aforementioned mosquitofish species.

Nine species are listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List; two, the widemouth gambusia, G. eurystoma, and the crescent gambusia, G. hurtadoi, are critically endangered; and two, the Amistad gambusia, G. amistadensis, and the San Marcos gambusia, G. georgei, are already extinct.