eastern mosquitofish
Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) is a species of freshwater fish, closely related to the western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The eastern mosquitofish is native to the eastern and southern United States from Florida to New Jersey and inland to Alabama and Tennessee, while the western mosquitofish has a larger distribution throughout the United States.
Wikipedia contributors, Eastern mosquitofish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:46:51.114510+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859
- Name authority
- Girard, 1859
- Common name
- eastern mosquitofish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Poeciliidae
- Genus
- Gambusia
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCyprinodontiformes
- familyPoeciliidae Bonaparte, 1831
- subfamilyPoeciliinae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusGambusia Poey, 1854
- speciesGambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gambusia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gambusia dominicensis Regan, 1913 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Widemouth GambusiaGambusia eurystoma Miller, 1975 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clear Creek gambusiaGambusia heterochir Hubbs, 1957 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia hispaniolae Fink, 1971 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Crescent GambusiaGambusia hurtadoi Hubbs & Springer, 1957 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Spotfin GambusiaGambusia krumholzi Minckley, 1963 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia lemaitrei Fowler, 1950 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia melapleura (Gosse, 1851) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia nicaraguensis Günther, 1866 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia panuco Hubbs, 1926 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia puncticulata Poey, 1854 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gambusia quadruncus Langerhans, 2012 | PoeciliidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Gambusia holbrookii Girard, 1859 Girard, 1859 | synonym |
| Heterandria holbrooki (Girard, 1859) (Girard, 1859) | synonym |
| Schizophallus holbrooki (Girard, 1859) (Girard, 1859) | synonym |
| Gambusia affinis holbrooki (Girard, 1859) (Girard, 1859) | synonym |
| Gambusia patruelis holbrooki (Girard, 1859) (Girard, 1859) | synonym |
| Gambusia affinis holbrocki (Girard, 1859) (Girard, 1859) | synonym |
| Gambusia holbrocki Girard, 1859 Girard, 1859 | synonym |
| Zygonectes atrilatus Jordan & Brayton, 1878 Jordan & Brayton, 1878 | 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.
- Girard, C. F. (1859). Ichthyological notices. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 11: 56–68. ;v. 11:91. 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:3F7VR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.