Balsas Molly
Poecilia maylandi Meyer, 1983
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 maylandi, also known as the Balsas molly or Mayland's molly, is a poeciliid fish native to Mexico. P. maylandi belongs to short-fin mollies. It has not been the subject of any phylogenetic work, and may belong to either P. sphenops or P. mexicana species complexes. The specific epithet honors the fish photographer Hans J. Mayland. Poecilia maylandi occurs in the basins of the Balsas and Aguililla rivers on the Pacific slope of Mexico. It lives in shallow freshwater habitats, including both streams and larger rivers. Although it can tolerate substantial variation in current speed, it tends to occupy the least turbulent areas, such as sheltered parts of pools and riffles. It has been recorded over a wide range of bottom types, from fine sediment and sand to gravel and exposed rock, occasionally with larger stones. Some habitats lack conspicuous aquatic plants, while others contain algae, emergent vegetation, Potamogeton, or water hyacinth. The water may be either clear or cloudy, but the species is usually found no deeper than about 1 m.
Wikipedia contributors, Poecilia maylandi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:56:46.111262+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poecilia maylandi Meyer, 1983
- Name authority
- Meyer, 1983
- Common name
- Balsas 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 maylandi Meyer, 1983
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 |
| Mexican mollyPoecilia sphenops Valenciennes, 1846 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Poecilia maylandai Meyer, 1983 Meyer, 1983 | 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.
- Meyer, M. K. (1983). Une nouvelle espèce de Poecilia du Guerrero, Mexique (Pisces: Poeciliidae). Revue Française d’Aquariologie Herpétologie, 10 (2): 55–58. 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:7855K. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.