Bicolor Molly
Poecilia catemaconis Miller, 1975
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
Poecilia catemaconis, the bicolor molly, is a livebearer fish from Mexico. Poecilia catemaconis belongs to the Poecilia sphenops species complex within the Mollienesia subgenus. It is most closely related to P. sphenops, being derived from an Atlantic-slope population of that species. The specific epithet refers to Laguna Catemaco, which the species inhabits. The body is slender and elongated but the caudal and dorsal fins (especially in females) are short. Females grow to about 86 mm in standard length, while males attain 64 mm. When in breeding mood, the male's caudal and dorsal fins are half-bluish black, half-bright orange; similarly, the body is also partly golden. Horizontal rows of orange spots appear on the side of the body. The female's colors are duller. Poecilia catemaconis is known only from Laguna Catemaco, a freshwater lake in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, its tributaries and its outlet.
Wikipedia contributors, Poecilia catemaconis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:32:39.828137+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poecilia catemaconis Miller, 1975
- Name authority
- Miller, 1975
- Common name
- Bicolor Molly
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Poeciliidae
- Genus
- Poecilia
- 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
- genusPoecilia Bloch & Schneider, 1801
- speciesPoecilia catemaconis Miller, 1975
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Poecilia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Poecilia boesemani Poeser, 2003 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific MollyPoecilia butleri Jordan, 1889 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia caucana (Steindachner, 1880) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia caudofasciata (Regan, 1913) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia dauli Meyer & Radda, 2000 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia elegans (Trewavas, 1948) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia gillii (Kner, 1863) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia koperi Poeser, 2003 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia sarrafae Bragança & Costa, 2011 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican mollyPoecilia sphenops Valenciennes, 1846 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia teresae Greenfield, 1990 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia vandepolli Van Lidth de Jeude, 1887 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Miller, R. R. (1975). Five new species of Mexican poeciliid fishes of the genera Poecilia, Gambusia, and Poeciliopsis. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan, No. 672: 1–44. 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:4KSCV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.