''Cyprinodon desquamator'' is a scale-eating species of

pupfish Pupfish are a group of small killifish belonging to ten genera of the family Cyprinodontidae of ray-finned fish. Pupfish are especially noted for being found in extreme and isolated situations. They are primarily found in North America, South ...

in the genus ''

Cyprinodon ''Cyprinodon'' is a genus of pupfishes found in waters that range from fresh to hypersaline. The genus is primarily found in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and southern United States (Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma a ...

''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

hypersaline A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive in hig ...

interior lakes on

San Salvador Island San Salvador Island (known as Watling's Island from the 1680s until 1925) is an island and district of The Bahamas. It is widely believed that during Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the New World, this island was the first land he s ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...

. It coexists alongside two other closely related ''Cyprinodon'' species '' C. brontotheroides'' and '' C. variegatus''. Together, these three species represent a recent

adaptive radiation In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic int ...

, each having moved into a difference niche within their specialized environment. Each of these species are defined by distinct

trophic Trophic, from Ancient Greek τροφικός (''trophikos'') "pertaining to food or nourishment", may refer to: * Trophic cascade * Trophic coherence * Trophic egg * Trophic function * Trophic hormone * Trophic level index The trophic leve ...

adaptations that have affected various aspects of their functional

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, behavior, strike kinematics, and reproductive coloration. ''Cyprinodon desquamator'' has enlarged adductor muscles, a small in-lever to out-lever ratio for rapidly closing its large lower jaw, and an elongated body for quickly performing scale-removing strikes on ''Cyprinodon'' and ''

Gambusia ''Gambusia'' is a large genus of viviparous fish in the family Poeciliidae (order Cyprinodontiformes). ''Gambusia'' contains over 40 species, most of which are principally found in freshwater habitats, though some species may also be found in br ...

'' species. This species spawns during the spring and summer, although it appears to be commoner in the summer. The males guard breeding territories. Specific epithet: 'desquamator' comes from the Latin "one who removes scales from fishes", describing the scale-eating trophic specialization of this species, unique among Cyprinodontiform fishes.

Coloration

General body color is silvery tan marked by irregular dark, wide bars along the length of the body in both sexes. Characteristic of the genus, mature males display a metallic blue anterodorsal region. This species uniquely lacks the typical black terminal margin to the caudal fin, which is replaced by black pigmentation covering the median fins. Females and juveniles display the typical black and white

ocellus A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-le ...

on the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

. Breeding males display a distinctive coloration of slate gray to jet black

pigmentation A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

throughout body and fins, broken only by a speckling of metallic blue in the anterodorsal region. Unlike most congeners, breeding males do not display any orange ventral coloration that is replaced by gray or black pigmentation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20826779 desquamator Endemic fauna of the Bahamas Fish of the Caribbean Freshwater fish of North America Taxa named by Christopher H. Martin (zoologist) Taxa named by Peter C. Wainwright Fish described in 2013