The Popoyote (''Profundulus hildebrandi''), also known as the Chiapas killifish, is a killifish from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Profundulidae Profundulidae is a family of killifishes. The species of this family are native to Central America and Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is b ...

which 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 elsew ...

to the valley of San Cristobal de las Casas in the Chiapas Highlands in Southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is highly

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

because its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, which amounts to only a few square kilometers, is subject to contamination and

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

from San Cristobal. It is currently being targeted by a civil society alliance for the protection of San Cristobal's

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s. ''Profundulus hildebrandi'' was described in 1950 by Robert Rush Miller with the type locality given as the closed basin of San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Atlantic drainage of Chiapas at an elevation of . The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Samuel F. Hildebrand Samuel Frederick Hildebrand (August 15, 1883 – March 16, 1949) was an American ichthyologist. Life and work Hildebrand was the son of German-born parents who immigrated to the United States in 1864. From 1908 to 1910 he worked as an assis ...

(1883-1949). The popoyote can grow up to in length and weigh up to . It is marked with numerous vertical bars as a juvenile which disappear in the adult. Spawning begins at the end of February and continues until the onset of the rains in June. During breeding season the adults are greyish in colour with green tones and yellow fins. The popoyote uses the channels and puddles that remain after the rains to lay as many as 150 eggs per female, which hatch after three days. The larvae reach the juvenile stage after three months and in less than one year become adult. Their diet largely consists of the larvae and adults of mosquitoes, although they will also feed on molluscs as well as other insects, such as beetles and dragonflies.

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Discover life: Profundulus hildebrandi Miller, 1950
Profundulidae Fish described in 1950 Endemic fish of Mexico {{Cyprinodontiformes-stub

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