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Leon Springs pupfish

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Leon Springs pupfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Cyprinodontidae
Genus: Cyprinodon
Species:
C. bovinus
Binomial name
Cyprinodon bovinus

The Leon Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon bovinus) is a species of fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to Pecos County, Texas in the United States. It is a federally listed endangered species.[2][3]

The Leon Springs pupfish is found at the shallow edges of spring-fed wetland pools, where it is most frequently observed in areas without vegetation.. Its diet consists of diatoms, amphipods, and ostracods.[4]

This fish was first discovered in 1851 at Leon Springs, near Fort Stockton, Texas. Leon Springs was impounded, poisoned, stocked with game fish,[5] and drained, and the fish was considered extinct by 1938. In the 1960s it was rediscovered at Diamond Y Spring a few miles away.[6] It is also found in the Diamond Y Draw, a tributary of the Pecos River.[7]

References

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  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Cyprinodon bovinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T6148A15364125. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T6148A15364125.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Leon Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon bovinus)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b 45 FR 54678
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Cyprinodon bovinus". FishBase. August 2019 version.
  5. ^ Kennedy, S. E. (1977). Life history of the Leon Springs Pupfish, Cyprinodon bovinus. Copeia 1977(1) 93.
  6. ^ USFWS. Listing of Leon Springs Pupfish as endangered with critical habitat. Federal Register August 15, 1980.
  7. ^ Garrett, G., et al. (2002). Threatened fishes of the world: Cyprinodon bovinus Baird & Girard, 1853 (Cyprinodontidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 64(4) 442.