Limia

Limia

:"For the town in Mozambique see Limia, Mozambique":"For the river in Spain, see Limia River."Taxobox
name = "Limia"
status = Secure



image_caption = Perugia's limia, "Limia perugiae"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Cyprinodontiformes
familia = Poeciliidae
genus = "Limia"
genus_authority = Poey, 1854
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Limia" is a genus of livebearing freshwater fishes belonging to the cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae, which includes other livebearers such as platys, swordtails (genus "Xiphophorous"), guppies and mollies (genus "Poecilia"). Limias are found on the islands of the Greater Antilles, with 22 species on Hispaniola and single endemic species on the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica. Limias are popular in aquaria among more advanced hobbyists.

Origin and evolution

Two schools of thought on the origin of the genus exist. The first suggests that limias arose from colonization by a seawater-tolerant species that crossed over shallow waters from the North or South American mainland. The strongest evidence for this model is that of the approximately 60 species of freshwater fish in the Antilles, all of them are secondary division freshwater fish. This indicates that the ancestors of all fish present on the islands at least had the ability to cross over shallow seas.

The second school of thought suggests that freshwater fish in the Antilles are the descendants of mainland species that became isolated when some of the Greater Antilles split from the mainland. The virtual lack of freshwater fish fossils from the Antilles means that this debate likely needs to be resolved through molecular evidence.

Mating system

Fish in the genus Limia are lecithrophic, meaning that there is pre-fertilization maternal provisioning in the form of yolked eggs. The female gives birth to live young, which have a higher chance of survival than eggs and earlier stage fry. Fertilization is achieved internally with the male's gonopodium, a modified anal fin used for sperm transfer. Because of the asymmetrical energy costs associated with internal fertilization, females in many Poeciliid species act as the choosy sex, with males exhibiting ornate coloration and morphology as well as elaborate courtship displays. Limias, however, mostly lack display or extreme sexual dimorphism/dichromism. Of the known species, only the Humpback Limia (L. nigrofasciata), Perugia's Limia (L. Perugiae) and the Blackbelly or Jamaican Limia (L. melanogaster) have been found to exhibit male courtship displays.The majority of limia species rely on sneak copulation, in which the male thrusts his gonopodium into the female's genital pore without a prior display. The consequence of this system of mating can be the undermining of female choice, halting the progression of sexual selection on male traits and in some cases inhibiting speciation.

Hybrids

Fertile hybrids has been obtained between:1. L melanogaster and L nigrofasciata and;2. L melanogaster and L vittata.

John Dawes in the UK in his book, Livebearing Fishes reported that a L melanogaster x L nigrofasciata hybrid male has been mated to female green sailfin molly. Two hybrid frys were obtained, one was raised to maturity, ending up as a molly-like fish swimming with its head up at an angle of 45 degrees and was unable to maintain an even keel. This hybrid fails to inseminate molly females provided and no further hybrid offsprings were obtained.

pecies

FishBase lists 21 species: [FishBase genus | genus = Limia | month = May | year = 2006]
* Grand Cayman limia, "Limia caymanensis" Rivas & Fink, 1970.
* Tiburon Peninsula limia, "Limia dominicensis" (Valenciennes, 1846).
* Blotched limia, "Limia fuscomaculata" Rivas, 1980.
* Garnier's limia, "Limia garnieri" Rivas, 1980.
* Largetooth limia, "Limia grossidens" Rivas, 1980.
* "Limia heterandria" Regan, 1913.
* Plain limia, "Limia immaculata" Rivas, 1980.
* Blackbelly limia, "Limia melanogaster" (Günther, 1866).
* Blackbanded limia, "Limia melanonotata" Nichols & Myers, 1923.
* Miragoane limia, "Limia miragoanensis" Rivas, 1980.
* Humpbacked limia, "Limia nigrofasciata" Regan, 1913.
* Ornate limia, "Limia ornata" Regan, 1913.
* Few-rayed limia, "Limia pauciradiata" Rivas, 1980.
* Perugia's limia, "Limia perugiae" (Evermann & Clark, 1906).
* Rivas's limia, "Limia rivasi" Franz & Burgess, 1983.
* Sulfur limia, "Limia sulphurophila" Rivas, 1980.
* "Limia tridens" (Hilgendorf, 1889).
* Varicolored limia, "Limia versicolor" (Günther, 1866).
* Cuban limia, "Limia vittata" (Guichenot, 1853).
* Yaguajal limia, "Limia yaguajali" Rivas, 1980.
* Striped limia, "Limia zonata" (Nichols, 1915).

References


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  • Limia — Perugia Kärpfling (Limia perugiae) Systematik Überordnung: Ährenfischverwandte (Atherinomorpha) Ordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Limĭa — (in Portugal Lima), Küstenfluß der Iberischen Halbinsel, entspringt in der spanischen Provinz Orense im See von Antela (615 m ü. M.), in den Antela und Ginzo münden, fließt in westsüdwestlicher Richtung, betritt bei Lindoso portugiesisches Gebiet …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • LIMIA — fluv. Hisp. vide Limaea …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

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  • Limia Nigrofasciata — Limia nigrofasciata …   Wikipédia en Français

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