Marbled Swordtail
Xiphophorus meyeri Schartl & Schröder, 1988
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 marbled swordtail (Xiphophorus meyeri) is a species of freshwater fish in the family Poeciliidae. It was endemic to the Rio Salado system (itself a part of the Rio Grande basin) in Coahuila, northeastern Mexico. It was restricted to springs, connected creeks and pools in waters with a pH slightly above neutral and temperatures of 16–26 °C (61–79 °F), with captive studies indicating that the optimum temperature is around 24 °C (75 °F).
The marbled swordtail is considered extinct in the wild by the IUCN with the last wild record in 1997, meaning that it survives only in captivity. Captive populations are maintained at the Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Texas State University, United States, and by XNP conservation project members, which include public aquariums, universities and private aquarists in several European countries and the United States. The marbled swordtail shares the title as northernmost naturally distributed Xiphophorus with the closely related Monterrey platyfish (X. couchianus) and northern platyfish (X. gordoni). The specific name of this species honours the German ichthyologist Manfred K. Meyer.
Wikipedia contributors, Marbled swordtail; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:42:04.120565+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xiphophorus meyeri Schartl & Schröder, 1988
- Name authority
- Schartl & Schröder, 1988
- Common name
- Marbled Swordtail
- 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 meyeri Schartl & Schröder, 1988
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 |
| Southern PlatyfishXiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866) | PoeciliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Highland SwordtailXiphophorus malinche Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990 | 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 |
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.
- Schartl, M., & Schröder, J. H. (1988). A new species of the genus Xiphophorus Heckel 1848, endemic to northern Coahuila, Mexico (Pisces: Poeciliidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica, 68 (4/6): 311–321. 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:5CFPL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.