guppy
Poecilia reticulata Peters, 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.
Wild guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Male above, and 2 females below.
Per Harald Olsen · CC BY 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The guppy (Poecilia reticulata), also known as the millionfish or rainbow fish, is a member of the family Poeciliidae and, akin to most New World members of the family, is classified as a livebearer. Male guppies, which are smaller than females, have ornamental caudal and dorsal fins. Wild guppies generally feed on a variety of food sources, including benthic algae and the larvae of aquatic insects.
Native to northeast South America, it has been introduced to many environments and are now found all over the world; guppies are now one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species. They are highly adaptable and thrive in many different environmental and ecological conditions. Guppies are used as a model organism in the fields of ecology, evolution, and behavioural studies.
Wikipedia contributors, Guppy; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:21:41.694791+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859
- Name authority
- Peters, 1859
- Common name
- guppy
- 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 reticulata Peters, 1859
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Haridichthys reticulatus (Peters, 1859) (Peters, 1859) | synonym |
| Lebistes poeciloides De Filippi, 1861 De Filippi, 1861 | synonym |
| Poecilia reticulatus Peters, 1859 Peters, 1859 | synonym |
| Poecilioides reticulatus (Peters, 1859) (Peters, 1859) | synonym |
| Pocilia reticulata Peters, 1859 Peters, 1859 | synonym |
| Acanthophacelus guppii (Günther, 1866) (Günther, 1866) | synonym |
| Acanthophacelus reticulatus (Peters, 1859) (Peters, 1859) | synonym |
| Girardinus guppii Günther, 1866 Günther, 1866 | synonym |
| Girardinus reticulatus (Peters, 1859) (Peters, 1859) | synonym |
| Lebistes poecilioides De Filippi, 1861 De Filippi, 1861 | synonym |
| Lebistes reticulatus (Peters, 1859) (Peters, 1859) | ambiguous synonym |
| Poecilia kempkesi Poeser, 2013 Poeser, 2013 | synonym |
| Poecilia reticulate Peters, 1859 Peters, 1859 | synonym |
| Heterandria guppyi (Günther, 1866) (Günther, 1866) | 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.
- Peters, W.(C.H.). (1859). Eine neue vom Herrn Jagor im atlantischen Meere gefangene Art der Gattung Leptocephalus, und über einige andere neue Fische des Zoologischen Museums. Monatsb. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 411–413. 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:4KSF6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.