sheepshead minnow
Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepède, 1803
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus, 45mm SL, Muddy Creek Fish Weir, Rhode River, SERC, Anne Arundel County, MD - 10/15/11. Photo by Robert Aguilar, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus), also known as sheepshead pupfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinodontidae, the pupfishes. It is found in salt marsh and estuary environments and is native to the eastern coasts of North and Central America.
Wikipedia contributors, Sheepshead minnow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:46:35.561738+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepède, 1803
- Name authority
- Lacepède, 1803
- Common name
- sheepshead minnow
- 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: yes · 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCyprinodontiformes
- familyCyprinodontidae Wagner, 1828
- subfamilyCyprinodontinae Wagner, 1828
- genusCyprinodon Lacepède, 1803
- speciesCyprinodon variegatus Lacepède, 1803
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyprinodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cyprinodon alvarezi Miller, 1976 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon arcuatus Minckley & Miller, 2002 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yucatan pupfishCyprinodon artifrons Hubbs, 1936 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| San Ignacio pupfishCyprinodon bobmilleri Lozano-Vilano & Contreras-Balderas, 1999 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon bondi Myers, 1935 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon bovinus Baird & Girard, 1853 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon brontotheroides Martin & Wainwright, 2013 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon elegans Baird & Girard, 1853 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hidden PupfishCyprinodon esconditus Strecker, 2002 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Conchos PupfishCyprinodon eximius Girard, 1859 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carbonera PupfishCyprinodon fontinalis Smith & Miller, 1980 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cyprinodon higuey Rodriguez & Smith, 1990 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cyprinodon baconi Breder, 1932 Breder, 1932 | synonym |
| Cyprinodon ellipsoidea (Lesueur, 1821) (Lesueur, 1821) | synonym |
| Cyprinodon gibbosus Baird & Girard, 1853 Baird & Girard, 1853 | synonym |
| Cyprinus variegatus Bosc, 1803 Bosc, 1803 | synonym |
| Lebias rhomboidalis Valenciennes, 1821 Valenciennes, 1821 | synonym |
| Cyprinodon variegatus baconi Breder, 1932 Breder, 1932 | synonym |
| Cyprinodon variegatus ovinus (Mitchill, 1815) (Mitchill, 1815) | synonym |
| Cyprinodon rhomboidalis (Valenciennes, 1821) (Valenciennes, 1821) | synonym |
| Esox ovinus Mitchill, 1815 Mitchill, 1815 | synonym |
| Lebia ellipsoidea Lesueur, 1821 Lesueur, 1821 | synonym |
| Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus Lacepède, 1803 Lacepède, 1803 | synonym |
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.
- Lacepède, B. G. E. (1803). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome Cinquieme. 5. 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.
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:33HP6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.