Gambusia affinis (western mosquitofish)

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Picture

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Caption

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Artwork of adult fish

Gambusia affinis (mosquito fish); artwork of adult fish.

©Duane Raver/US Fish and Wildlife Service/Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US

Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

Gambusia affinis Biard and Girard, 1853

Preferred Common Name

western mosquitofish

Other Scientific Names

Gambusia affinis affinis Biard and Girard, 1853
Gambusia affinis katruelis Biard and Girard, 1853
Gambusia gracilis Girard, 1859
Gambusia humilis Gunher, 1866
Gambusia patruelis Biard and Girard, 1853
Haplochilus melanops Cope, 1870
Heterandria affini Biard and Girard, 1853
Heterandria patruelis Biard and Girard, 1853
Zygonectes brachypterus Cope, 1880
Zygonectes gracilis Girard, 1859
Zygonectes inurus Jordan and Gilbert, 1882
Zygonectes patruelis Biard and Girard, 1853

International Common Names

English: mosquito fish; mosquitofish

Local Common Names

Albania: burkaleci
Canada: gambusie
China/Hong Kong: live-bearing tooth-carp; sang hang ue; tes; topminnow
France: alevin; gambouse; gambuse; gambusie
Germany: Koboldkarpfling; Silberkarpfling; Texaskarpfling
Greece: kounoupopsaro
Japan: kadayashi
Philippines: isdang canal
Poland: gambuzia pospolita
Portugal: gambuzia
Russian Federation: obyknovennaya gambuziya
Spain: gambusino
Sweden: vastlig moskitfisk
Ukraine: gambuzija

Summary of Invasiveness

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G. affinis has been introduced throughout the world as a mosquito-control agent. It has become a pest in many waterways following initial introductions in the early 1900s. G. affinis is a highly predatory fish, that as well as controlling mosquitoes also eats the eggs of economically important fish, and preys on rare indigenous fish and invertebrate species (ISSG, 2010).

Taxonomic Tree

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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Metazoa
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Poeciliidae
Genus: Gambusia
Species: Gambusia affinis

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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This datasheet focuses upon Gambusia affinis, although much of the biology is confused between the previous subspecies and now congeners, G. holbrooki and G. affinis. Both species were regarded as Gambusia affinis prior to 1988 and even after this date, workers often referred Gambusia affinis as a generic name for both species.

The genus Gambusia comprises about 30 species divided into four sub-genera: Orthophallus, Arthrophallus, Heterophallina,and Gambusia. Other gambusine species rarely coexist with G. affinis, but when they do they are usually ecologically segregated.

Wotten et al. (1988) formally recognised two species - G. holbrooki and G. affinis - which were previously regarded as sub-species of G. affinis (G. a. holbrooki and G. a. affinis). These species are different in a number of meristic characteristics but are definitively differentiated by the morphological differences of the gonopodium (male anal fin) (see Lloyd, 1990c).

Description

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G. affinis is a small, stout, robust, dull grey to brown with a terminal and upward pointing mouth adapted for feeding at the surface of the water. It has a small, rounded dorsal fin that originates behind the anal fin. Dorsal fin rays are 7-9 in number, and anal rays are 9-10 (FishBase, 2004). Origin of seventh dorsal fin is opposite anal ray. There are 8 horizontal scale rows between back and abdomen. The first few rays of the anal fin are greatly elongated in adult males. Mature females are larger than males. The maximum total length reported for male and female is 4.0 cm (Billard, 1997) and 7.0 cm respectively (FishBase, 2004).

Distribution

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Native range of G. affinis is recorded as Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainage from southern New Jersey, USA to Mexico; Mississippi River basin from central Indiana and Illinois, USA south to Gulf (USGS, 2003). Because of its reputation as a mosquito-control agent, G. affinis has been stocked routinely and indiscriminately in temperate and tropical areas around the world resulting in a wide distribution. Due to their hardiness, this species may now be the most widespread freshwater fish in the world (USGS, 2003).

For non-indigenous occurrences of G. affinis within the USA please see the USGS fact sheet on this species (Nico et al., 2007).

Because G. affinis and G. holbrooki were treated as subspecies of G. affinis prior to 1988, it is not always possible to discern which species is referred to in the earlier literature and the Distribution and Intrroductions Tables may include records of G. holbrooki. It was confirmed by Pyke (2005) that records across Australia were of G. holbrooki.

Distribution Table

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The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Last updated: 10 Feb 2022

Continent/Country/Region	Distribution	Origin	First Reported	Invasive	Reference	Notes
Africa
Algeria	Present	Introduced	1931		Seebens et al. (2017)
Central African Republic	Present	Introduced	1958		Seebens et al. (2017)
Comoros	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Côte d'Ivoire	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Egypt	Present	Introduced	1929		Seebens et al. (2017) Welcomme (1988)
Ghana	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Kenya	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Madagascar	Present	Introduced	1929		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Mauritius	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
-Rodrigues	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Morocco	Present	Introduced	1929		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
South Africa	Present	Introduced	1936		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Sudan	Present	Introduced	1929		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Zambia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010) Seebens et al. (2017)	Not established
Zimbabwe	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Bell-Cross and Minshull (1988)
Asia
Afghanistan	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Coad (1981)
Armenia	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Gabrielyan (2001)
Bangladesh	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Gopi (2000)
Cambodia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
China	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Welcomme (1988) Seebens et al. (2017)
Georgia	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Reshetnikov and et al. (1997)
Hong Kong	Present	Introduced		Invasive	CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Man and Hodgkiss (1981)
India	Present	Introduced	1928		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Indonesia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010) Seebens et al. (2017)	Not established
Iraq	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)	First reported: 1950 - 1955
Israel	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)	First reported: 1920 - 1929
Japan	Present	Introduced	1916		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Kazakhstan	Present	Introduced	1934		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Laos	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Malaysia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Myanmar	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Pakistan	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Philippines	Present	Introduced	1905		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Singapore	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Sri Lanka	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)	First reported: 1930 - 1939
Syria	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Taiwan	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)	First reported: 1920 - 1924
Thailand	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Turkey	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) FAO (1997)	First reported: 1920 - 1929
Uzbekistan	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Kamilov and Urchinov (1995)
Vietnam	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Europe
Albania	Present	Introduced			FAO (1997)
Bulgaria	Present	Introduced	1924		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
France	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Keith and Allardi (1998)
Greece	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Welcomme (1988)	First reported: 1927 - 1937
Hungary	Present	Introduced	1939		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Italy	Present	Introduced			Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)	First reported: 1919 - 1921
Portugal	Present	Introduced	1921		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Romania	Present	Introduced	1921		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Russia	Present	Introduced	1925		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Serbia and Montenegro	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Slovenia	Present	Introduced	1927		Seebens et al. (2017)
Spain	Present	Introduced	1921		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Ukraine	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Movchan Yu (1988)
North America
Canada	Present	Introduced	1923		Seebens et al. (2017) Welcomme (1988)
Haiti	Present	Introduced	1983		Seebens et al. (2017)
Mexico	Present	Native			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Page and Burr (1991)
Puerto Rico	Present	Introduced	1914		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
United States	Present	Native			CABI (Undated)	Original citation: Page and Burr (1991)
-Hawaii	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Yamamoto (1992)
Oceania
American Samoa	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Australia	Absent, Unconfirmed presence record(s)				Welcomme (1988) Seebens et al. (2017)	Earlier reports of G. affinis are of G. holbrooki
Cook Islands	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Federated States of Micronesia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Fiji	Present	Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: Lewis and Pring (1986)
French Polynesia	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Guam	Present	Introduced			Welcomme (1988)
Kiribati	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Marshall Islands	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
New Zealand	Present	Introduced	1930		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)
Northern Mariana Islands	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Papua New Guinea	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Samoa	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Solomon Islands	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
Timor-Leste	Present	Introduced			Froese and Pauly (2010)
South America
Argentina	Present	Introduced	1943		Seebens et al. (2017) Welcomme (1988)
Bolivia	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Welcomme (1988)
Chile	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Welcomme (1988) Seebens et al. (2017)
Peru	Present	Introduced	1940		Seebens et al. (2017) Froese and Pauly (2010)

Introductions

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Introduced to	Introduced from	Year	Reason	Introduced by	Established in wild through		References	Notes
Introduced to	Introduced from	Year	Reason	Introduced by	Natural reproduction	Continuous restocking	References	Notes
Afghanistan				Unknown	Yes	No	Coad (1981); Coad (1981)
Albania				Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Argentina		1943		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Bangladesh				Unknown	No	No	Gopi (2000)
Bolivia				Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Canada	California	1924		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Central Africa		1958		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Chile		1937		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
China	North America			Unknown	Yes	No	Xie (2001)
Côte d'Ivoire				Unknown	No	No	Welcomme (1988)
Cyprus	Syria			Unknown	No	No	Welcomme (1988)
Egypt		1929		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Fiji		1930-1939		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
France	North America	1924		Unknown	Yes	No	Keith and Allardi (1998)
French Polynesia				Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Georgia (Republic of)	Italy	1925		Unknown	Yes	No	Reshetnikov and et al. (1997); Reshetnikov et al. (1997)
Ghana				Unknown	No	No	Welcomme (1988)
Greece				Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Hawaii	Texas	1905		Individual	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Hong Kong				Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Hungary		1939		Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
India	Italy	1928		Government	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Indonesia	Italy	1929		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Iraq		1950-1955		Government	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Israel		1924		Unknown	Yes	No	Golani and Mires (2000); Golani and Mires (2000)
Italy	USA	1919-1921		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Japan	Taiwan	1916		Unknown	Yes	No	Chiba and et al. (1989); Chiba et al. (1989)
Kazakhstan	Russian Federation	1934		Unknown	Yes	No	Mitrofanov and Petr (1999); Mitrofanov and Petr (1999)
Kenya				Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Kiribati				Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Laos				Unknown	No	No	; Kottelat (2001); Kottelat (2001a); Kottelat et al. (2001a)
Madagascar	USA	1929		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Malaysia				Unknown	Yes	No	Ang and et al. (1989); Ang et al. (1989)
Mexico		1931		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Morocco		1929		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Myanmar				Unknown	No	No	Gopi (2000)
New Zealand	Hawaii	1930		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Pakistan				Unknown	No	No	Gopi (2000)
Papua New Guinea		1930		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Peru	Central America	1940		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Philippines	Hawaii	1905		Government	Yes	No	Juliano and et al. (1989); Juliano et al. (1989)
Portugal		1921		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Puerto Rico	USA	1914		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Romania		1921		Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Russian Federation	Italy	1925		Unknown	Yes	No	Reshetnikov and et al. (1997); Reshetnikov et al. (1997)
Solomon Islands				Unknown	Yes	No	Eldredge (1994); Eldredge (1994)
South Africa		1936		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Spain		1921		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Sri Lanka		1930-1939		Unknown	Yes	No	Pethiyagoda (1991); Pethiyagoda (1991)
Sudan	Italy	1929		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Syria				Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Taiwan	North America	1920-1924		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Thailand				Government	Yes	No	Piyakarnchana (1989); Piyakarnchana (1989)
Turkey				Unknown	Yes	No	FAO (1997)
Ukraine				Unknown	No	No	Movchan Yu (1988)
Uzbekistan	Italy	1930		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)		1927		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)
Zambia	South Africa	1940-1949		Unknown	No	No	Thys van den Audenaerde DFE (1994)
Zimbabwe	USA	1925		Unknown	Yes	No	Welcomme (1988)

Habitat List

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Category	Sub-Category	Habitat	Presence
Terrestrial	Managed	Ricefields	Present, no further details
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Floodplains	Present, no further details
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Swamps	Present, no further details
Freshwater
Freshwater		Lakes	Present, no further details
Freshwater		Rivers / streams	Present, no further details
Freshwater		Ponds	Present, no further details
Brackish
Brackish		Lagoons	Present, no further details

Natural Food Sources

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Food Source	Food Source Datasheet	Life Stage	Contribution to Total Food Intake (%)	Details
detritus		Aquatic\|Adult; Aquatic\|Broodstock
zoobenthos		Aquatic\|Adult; Aquatic\|Broodstock
zooplankton		Aquatic\|Adult; Aquatic\|Broodstock

Climate

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Climate	Status	Description	Remark
A - Tropical/Megathermal climate	Preferred	Average temp. of coolest month > 18°C, > 1500mm precipitation annually
C - Temperate/Mesothermal climate	Preferred	Average temp. of coldest month > 0°C and < 18°C, mean warmest month > 10°C

Water Tolerances

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Parameter	Minimum Value	Maximum Value	Typical Value	Status	Life Stage
Salinity (part per thousand)			<16	Optimum	Adult
Water pH (pH)	6	8		Optimum	Adult
Water temperature (ºC temperature)	15	30		Optimum	Adult

Natural enemies

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Natural enemy	Type	Life stages	Specificity	References	Biological control in	Biological control on
Cichla ocellaris	Predator	Aquatic\|Adult		Honebrink (1990)
Morone saxatilis	Predator	Aquatic\|Adult		Setler and et al. (1980)

Means of Movement and Dispersal

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Intentional Introduction

Intentional release of G. affinis is carried out by mosquito-control agencies.

Pathway Causes

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Cause	Notes	Long Distance	Local
Biological control	Introduced for mosquito control	Yes	Yes
Live food or feed trade	Live food fish		Yes
Ornamental purposes	Ornamental fish	Yes	Yes

Impact Summary

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Category	Impact
Biodiversity (generally)	Negative
Human health	Positive
Native fauna	Negative
Rare/protected species	Negative

Environmental Impact

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G. affinis has been regarded as a controversial species as it has created ecological problems of various kinds but is, at the same time, perceived as being extremely useful in controlling unwanted organisms (Welcomme, 1988). According to Courtenay and Meffe (1989), mosquitofish have had the greatest ecological impact by far of any of the introduced poeciliids. Although widely introduced as mosquito control agents, recent critical reviews of the world literature on mosquito control have not supported the view that Gambusia are particularly effective in reducing mosquito populations or in reducing the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases (Courtenay and Meffe, 1989).

Because of the aggressive and predatory behaviour of G. affinis, it is reported that native fish species and populations of small fish tend to decline, or are eliminated in areas where it has become established. In some habitats, introduced G. affinis reportedly displaced select native fish species regarded as better or more efficient mosquito control agents. They have been particularly destructive in the American West where they have contributed to the elimination or decline of populations of federally endangered and threatened species (Courtenay and Meffe, 1989). Mosquitofish, and other introduced poeciliids, have been implicated in the decline of native damselflies on Oahu, Hawaii. Often the distributions of the damselflies and introduced fishes were found to be mutually exclusive, probably resulting from predation of the fish on the insects (Englund, 1999).

For further information on predation see Threat Abatement Plan for Gambusia holbrooki (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 2003).

Threatened Species

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Threatened Species	Conservation Status	Where Threatened	Mechanism	References
Crenichthys baileyi (White River killfish)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable)	Nevada		Nico et al. (2007)
Fundulus sciadicus (Plains topminnow)	LC (IUCN red list: Least concern)
Neochanna diversus (black mudfish)	DD (IUCN red list: Data deficient)	New Zealand		Willis and Ling (2000)
Poeciliopsis occidentalis (Gila topminnow)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable); USA ESA listing as endangered species	Arizona; New Mexico	Competition - monopolizing resources	US Fish and Wildlife Service (1998)
Ambrysus funebris (Nevares Spring naucorid bug)	No Details	Hawaii	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2014a)
Erinna newcombi (Newcomb's snail)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable); USA ESA listing as threatened species	Hawaii	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2006)
Gambusia heterochir (Clear Creek gambusia)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable); USA ESA listing as endangered species	Texas	Competition - monopolizing resources; Hybridization	US Fish and Wildlife Service (1982)
Gila nigra (headwater chub)	NT (IUCN red list: Near threatened)	Arizona; New Mexico	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2013a)
Gila robusta (roundtail chub)	NT (IUCN red list: Near threatened)	Arizona; California; Nevada	Competition (unspecified); Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2013b)
Hyla wrightorum (Arizona treefrog)	LC (IUCN red list: Least concern)	Arizona	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2013c)
Iotichthys phlegethontis (least chub)	EN (IUCN red list: Endangered)	Utah	Competition (unspecified); Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2013d)
Lepidomeda mollispinis pratensis (Big Spring spinedace)	USA ESA listing as threatened species	Nevada	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (1994)
Megalagrion xanthomelas (orangeblack Hawaiian damselfly)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable); USA ESA listing as endangered species	Hawaii	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2014b)
Plagopterus argentissimus (woundfin)	EN (IUCN red list: Endangered); USA ESA listing as endangered species	Arizona; Nevada; New Mexico; Utah	Competition - monopolizing resources; Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2008b)
Pyrgulopsis morrisoni (page springsnail)	DD (IUCN red list: Data deficient); USA ESA candidate species	Arizona	Predation	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2013e)
Rhinichthys osculus lethoporus (Independence Valley speckled dace)	USA ESA listing as endangered species	Nevada	Competition (unspecified); Ecosystem change / habitat alteration	US Fish and Wildlife Service (2008a)
Rana chiricahuensis (Chiricahua leopard frog)	VU (IUCN red list: Vulnerable)	Arizona

Risk and Impact Factors

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Invasiveness

Proved invasive outside its native range
Highly adaptable to different environments
Has high reproductive potential

Impact outcomes

Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
Threat to/ loss of endangered species
Threat to/ loss of native species

Impact mechanisms

Competition - monopolizing resources
Competition (unspecified)
Hybridization
Predation

Likelihood of entry/control

Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

Uses List

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Animal feed, fodder, forage

Live feed

Environmental

Biological control

General

Ornamental

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

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G. affinis can be confused with G. holbrooki and at one time they were classified as the subspecies G. affinis affinis and G. affinis holbrooki, respectively (Froese and Pauly, 2007).

Prevention and Control

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Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

Control

Chemical control

Chemical control of mosquitofish was investigated by Willis and Ling (2000) in New Zealand in fish living alongside the black mudfish, Neochanna diversus. The relative sensitivities of the mudfish and mosquitofish to the chemical compound rotenone were tested to determine whether the piscicide could be used to remove the mosquitofish from the mudfish habitats – the former having detrimental effects of the survival of mudfish. Rotenone was chosen as although it is extremely toxic to fish by acting by blocking cellular oxygen uptake causing fish to gasp at the water’s surface, non-target fish can be saved by removal to freshwater or by the addition of a strong oxidising agent.

Their study found that mudfish were approximately twice as sensitive to rotenone as mosquitofish; however, when mudfish were removed from the treated areas they did fully recover. Willis and Ling concluded that the application of rotenone to wetland standing water could only be used to control mosquitofish numbers rather than eliminate them completely.

References

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Allen GR, 1991. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Madang, Papua New Guinea: Christensen Research Institute, 180 pp.

Ang KJ, Gopinath R, Chua TE, 1989. The status of introduced fish species in Malaysia. In: De Silva SS, ed. Exotic aquatic organisms in Asia. Proceedings of the Workshop on Introduction of Exotic Aquatic Organisms in Asia. Asian Fisheries Society. Special Publication 3. Manila, Philippines: Asian Fisheries Society, 71-82.

Arkhipchuk VV, 1999. Chromosome database. Database of Dr. Victor Arkhipchuk. Ukraine.

Bell-Cross G, Minshull JL, 1988. The fishes of Zimbabwe. National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Harare. 294 pp.

Billard R, 1997. Les poissons d’eau douce des rivieres de France. Identification, inventaire et repartition des 83 especes. Lausanne: Delachaux and Niestle, 192 pp.

Burgess GH, Franz R, 1989. Zoogeography of the Antillean freshwater fish fauna. In: Woods CA, ed. Biogeography of the West Indies: past, present, and future, 236-304.

Chiba K, Taki Y Sakai K, Oozeki Y, 1989. Present status of aquatic organisms introduced into Japan. In: De Silva SS, ed., Exotic aquatic organisms in Asia, Proceedings of the Workshop on Introduction of Exotic Aquatic Organisms in Asia, p 63-70, Asian Fish Soc. Spec. Publ. 3,. Manila, Philippines: Asian Fish Society.

Coad BW, 1981. Fishes of Afghanistan, an annotated check-list. Publications in Zoology, National Museums of Canada, 14:23.

Courtenay WRJr, Meffe GK, 1989. Small fishes in strange places: a review of introduced poeciliids. Ecology and evolution of livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae)., 319-331.

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Distribution References

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Seebens H, Blackburn T M, Dyer E E, Genovesi P, Hulme P E, Jeschke J M, Pagad S, Pyšek P, Winter M, Arianoutsou M, Bacher S, Blasius B, Brundu G, Capinha C, Celesti-Grapow L, Dawson W, Dullinger S, Fuentes N, Jäger H, Kartesz J, Kenis M, Kreft H, Kühn I, Lenzner B, Liebhold A, Mosena A (et al), 2017. No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide. Nature Communications. 8 (2), 14435. http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14435

Links to Websites

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Website	URL	Comment
Gambusia control homepage	http://www.gambusia.net
GISD/IASPMR: Invasive Alien Species Pathway Management Resource and DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway	https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m93f6	Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list.
Global register of Introduced and Invasive species (GRIIS)	http://griis.org/	Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list.

Contributors

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09/01/2010 Updated by:

Vicki Bonham, CABI, Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, OX10 8DE, UK

Main Author
Sunil Siriwardena
Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK

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Gambusia affinis (western mosquitofish)

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