Moctezuma Swordtail
Xiphophorus montezumae Jordan & Snyder, 1899
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
Xiphophorus montezumae, the Montezuma swordtail, is a livebearing freshwater fish of the order Cyprinodontiformes, family Poeciliidae, and genus Xiphophorus. It is in the same genus as the common platy and the swordtail. Xiphophorus means 'sword-bearer' in Greek.
Wikipedia contributors, Xiphophorus montezumae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:12.863226+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xiphophorus montezumae Jordan & Snyder, 1899
- Name authority
- Jordan & Snyder, 1899
- Common name
- Moctezuma 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 montezumae Jordan & Snyder, 1899
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 |
| 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 |
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.
- Jordan, D. S., & Snyder, J. O. (1899). Notes on a collection of fishes from the rivers of Mexico, with description of twenty new species. Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission, v. 19 [1899]: 115–147. 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:5CFPQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.