Mountain Swordtail
Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990
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.
This sport inhabits fast till moderate flowing creeks in mountainous areas (about 1200 meters) and some cenotes which are parts of the Rio Tamasi drainage (state of San Luis Potosi, eastern Mexico). This Xiphophorus species, they're also known as "Nezzies" and "Mountain swordtail". The name "Nezahualcoyotl" means "hungry coyote". And this strain was named after an Acolhuan philosopher, ruler and warrior by the name of Acolmiztli Nezahualcoyotl (☼1402 - †1472). But the species itself was described in 1990 while the first specimens of this swordtail species was imported in 1913. This had to do with the fact that this species was thought to be a variety of the Xiphophorus montezumae. This photo shows an adult male.
Livebearerguy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl, the mountain swordtail, is a live bearing fish in the family Poeciliidae. It is endemic to the northwestern Pánuco River basin in Mexico. The specific name of this fish refers to the poet, philosopher, and emperor of Texcoco, Nezahualcoyotl (1402–1472).
Wikipedia contributors, Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:28:54.653612+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990
- Name authority
- Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990
- Common name
- Mountain 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 nezahualcoyotl Rauchenberger, Kallman & Morizot, 1990
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.
- Rauchenberger, M., Kallman, K. D., & Morizot, D. C. (1990). Monophyly and geography of the Río Pánuco Basin swordtails (Genus Xiphophorus) with descriptions of four new species. American Museum Novitates, 2975: 1–41. 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:5CFPT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.