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Limia
Sign in to saveLimia is a genus of livebearing fishes belonging to the Cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae. It comprises 22 described species found in fresh, brackish, saltwater, and hypersaline habitats of the Greater Antilles islands in the Caribbean Sea. A vast majority are endemic to Hispaniola. There has been a long-running debate on whether Limia should be considered a subgenus of Poecilia rather than a full genus. Most Limia species are detrivores and herbivores. Due to their small size and coloring, they are sometimes kept in home aquaria.
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Evolution and phylogeny
- Species
- ''Odontolimia''
- ''Limia''
- Ecology
- Traits
- Fishkeeping
- References
Limia is a genus of livebearing fishes belonging to the Cyprinodontiform family Poeciliidae. It comprises 22 described species found in fresh, brackish, saltwater, and hypersaline habitats of the Greater Antilles islands in the Caribbean Sea. A vast majority are endemic to Hispaniola. There has been a long-running debate on whether Limia should be considered a subgenus of Poecilia rather than a full genus. Most Limia species are detrivores and herbivores. Due to their small size and coloring, they are sometimes kept in home aquaria.
== Taxonomy == The genus Limia belongs to Poecilidae, the most abundant and species-rich family of freshwater fish on the Greater Antilles. The generic name Limia, derived from Latin, refers to the muddy habitat of the type species, L. vittata. The genus was established in 1854 by Poey. Rosen and Bailey made it a subgenus of the genus Poecilia in their major reclassification of the poeciliid genera in 1963. Rivas, among others, continued to recognize Limia as a distinct genus and resurrected it in 1978, describing eight new species in 1980.