Distribution and current conservation status of the Mexican Goodeidae (Actinopterygii, Cyprinodontiformes)

By

Lyons, John
Piller, Kyle
Artigas Azas, Juan Miguel
Domínguez-Domínguez, Omar
Gesundheit, Pablo
Koeck, Michael
Medina Nava, Martina
Mercado-Silva, Norman
Ramirez Garcia, Arely
Findley, Kearstin

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

885

Pages

115--158

Subjects

Captive maintenance , Evolutionarily Significant Unit , Goodeinae , Mexico

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.885.38152

 

Abstract

The current distribution and abundance of the 40 species of Goodeidae fishes known from Mexico are described, and a total of 84 Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) is designated within these species. Two species and four ESUs are likely extinct with no captive populations, and three species and eight ESUs are probably extinct in the wild but have at least one captive population in Mexico, the United States, or Europe. Of the 35 extant species, the analyses indicate that nine should be considered as critically endangered, 14 as endangered, nine as vulnerable, and only three as least concern. Twenty-seven of these species have experienced substantial declines in distribution or abundance or both since 2000, and only eight appear to have remained relatively stable. Of the 72 extant ESUs, our analyses indicate that 29 should be considered as critically endangered, 21 as endangered, 18 as vulnerable, and only four as least concern. Brief summaries of the historic and current distributions and abundance of each species are provided, as well as ESU. Three strategies are recommended to conserve Mexican goodeids: protect the best-quality remaining habitats where goodeids still persist, restore degraded habitat and re-introduce species or ESUs where practical, and establish captive populations to ensure continued survival of the many species and ESUs that will almost inevitably go extinct in the coming years. Limited resources require cooperation and collaboration between scientists, conservationists, and aquarium hobbyists for successful captive maintenance.