Southern Platyfish
Xiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866)
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.
Xiphophorus maculatus, female, rainbow wag variety
Marrabbio2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The southern platyfish, common platy, or moonfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) is a species of freshwater fish in family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. A live-bearer, it is closely related to the green swordtail (X. hellerii) and can interbreed with it. It is native to an area of North and Central America stretching from Veracruz, Mexico, to northern Belize. The southern platyfish grows to a maximum overall length of 6.0 cm (2.4 in). Sexual dimorphism is slight, the male's caudal fin being more pointed. The anal fin of the male fish has evolved into a gonopodium, a stick-shaped organ used for reproduction. The female southern platyfish's anal fin is fan shaped. Wild varieties are drab in coloration, lacking the distinctive dark lateral line common to many Xiphophorus species. Xiphophorus maculatus prefers slow-moving waters of canals, ditches, and warm springs. Omnivorous, its diet includes both plants and small crustaceans, insects, and annelid worms. Breeders have developed a multitude of color varieties (e.g. orange, red, yellow, red/black, and black/white) which are common aquarium fish for hobbyists.
Wikipedia contributors, Southern platyfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:33:02.354031+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1866)
- Common name
- Southern Platyfish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Poeciliidae
- Genus
- Xiphophorus
- 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
- genusXiphophorus Heckel, 1848
- speciesXiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Xiphophorus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Spiketail PlatyfishXiphophorus andersi Meyer & Schartl, 1980 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xiphophorus clemenciae Álvarez, 1959 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Monterrey PlatyfishXiphophorus couchianus (Girard, 1859) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Reticulate PlatyfishXiphophorus evelynae Rosen, 1960 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xiphophorus gordoni Miller & Minckley, 1963 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| green swordtailXiphophorus hellerii Heckel, 1848 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xiphophorus kosszanderi Meyer & Wischnath, 1981 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Highland SwordtailXiphophorus malinche Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Marbled SwordtailXiphophorus meyeri Schartl & Schröder, 1988 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catemaco platyfishXiphophorus milleri Rosen, 1960 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Xiphophorus monticolus Kallman, Walter, Morizot & Kazianis, 2004 | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Barred SwordtailXiphophorus multilineatus Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Platypoecilus cyanellus Meinken, 1935 Meinken, 1935 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus nigra Brind, 1914 Brind, 1914 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus maculatus aurata Stoye, 1935 Stoye, 1935 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus maculatus cyanellus Meinken, 1935 Meinken, 1935 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus maculatus sanguinea Stoye, 1935 Stoye, 1935 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus maculatus Günther, 1866 Günther, 1866 | synonym |
| Poecilia maculata (Günther, 1866) (Günther, 1866) | synonym |
| Platypoecilus maculatus maculatus Stoye, 1935 Stoye, 1935 | synonym |
| Xiphorus helleri maculatus (Günther, 1866) (Günther, 1866) | synonym |
| Platypoecilus aurata Stoye, 1935 Stoye, 1935 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus pulchra Brind, 1914 Brind, 1914 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus rubra Brind, 1914 Brind, 1914 | synonym |
| Platypoecilus sanguinea Stoye, 1935 Stoye, 1935 | synonym |
| Xiphorus maculatus (Günther, 1866) (Günther, 1866) | synonym |
| Poecilia maculatus (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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=862549 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:5CFPH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.