Desert Pupfish

Open encyclopedia reference

The desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) is a rare species of bony fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is a small fish, typically less than 7.62 cm (3 in) in length. Males are generally larger than females, and have bright-blue coloration, while females and juveniles are silvery or tan. A notable attribute of the desert pupfish is their ability to survive in environments of extreme salinity, pH, and temperature, and low oxygen content. The desert pupfish mates in a characteristic fashion, wherein compatible males and females will come in contact and collectively jerk in an s-shape. Each jerk typically produces a single egg that is fertilized by the male and deposited in his territory. Breeding behavior includes aggressive arena-breeding and more docile consort-pair breeding. The desert pupfish is a federally listed endangered species in the United States. The desert pupfish was once a common fish, but it is now extirpated from most of its historical natural range. The decrease in population has been a trend since the early 1900s due to habitat destruction and fragmentation.

Wikipedia contributors, Desert pupfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:10:17.816930+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Cyprinodon macularius Baird & Girard, 1853

Name authority

Baird & Girard, 1853

Common name

Desert Pupfish

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Cyprinodontiformes

Family

Cyprinodontidae

Genus

Cyprinodon

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCyprinodontiformes
11. familyCyprinodontidae Wagner, 1828
12. subfamilyCyprinodontinae Wagner, 1828
13. genusCyprinodon Lacepède, 1803
14. speciesCyprinodon macularius Baird & Girard, 1853

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Cyprinodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 90 records assigned to Cyprinodontidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Baird, S. F., & Girard, C. F. (1853). Descriptions of new species of fishes collected by Mr. John H. Clark, on the U. S. and Mexican Boundary Survey, under Lt. Col. Jas. D. Graham. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 6: 387–390. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:33HN4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.