AY Honors/Fishes/Answer Key

Swordtail
Template:Taxonomy
Template:Regnum: Animalia Template:Phylum: Chordata Template:Superclassis: Osteichthyes Template:Classis: Actinopterygii Template:Ordo: Cyprinodontiformes Template:Familia: Poeciliidae Template:Genus: Xiphophorus Template:Species: helleri
Binomial name
Xiphophorus helleri

The Swordtail (hybrid of Xiphophorus helleri, X. variatus, and X. maculatus ) is a popular freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the Poecilidae family and is therefore live-bearing. It is closely related to the platy and can interbreed with it.

The species is named after the elongated lower lobe of the caudal fin (tailfin). This is only found in the male.

Swordtails are easy to keep and well suited to a community aquarium.

The species was bred specifically for the aquarium hobby from species originally from Central America. It's natural environment (if such a thing existed) would be a pond on a fish farm in Florida, or South East Asia.

See also

• List of freshwater aquarium fish species

References

• "Xiphophorus helleri." ITIS Standard Report. (Integrated Taxonomic Information System: National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 2004-06-04). ITIS 165920