Mexican molly
Poecilia sphenops Valenciennes, 1846
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 sphenops, called the Mexican molly or simply the molly, is a species of poeciliid fish from Central America. It was once understood as a widespread species with numerous local variants ranging from Mexico to Venezuela, but these variants are today considered distinct species belonging to the P. sphenops complex and P. sphenops itself as being native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Due in part to its popularity as an aquarium fish, the species has been introduced outside of its native range, but many records may in fact refer to P. mexicana or other species from the complex. P. sphenops has been crossbred with other mollies, notably P. latipinna and P. velifera, to produce fancy mollies for the ornamental fish trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Poecilia sphenops; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:27.929471+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poecilia sphenops Valenciennes, 1846
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1846
- Common name
- Mexican 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 sphenops Valenciennes, 1846
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 |
| Poecilia teresae Greenfield, 1990 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Poecilia vandepolli Van Lidth de Jeude, 1887 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yucatan mollyPoecilia velifera (Regan, 1914) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. (1846). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-huitième. Suite du livre dix-huitième. Cyprinoïdes. Livre dix-neuvième. Des Ésoces ou Lucioïdes. v. 18: i–xix + 2 pp. + 1–505 + 2 pp., Pls. 520–553. 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:4KSFJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.