''Skiffia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of goodeid fish that contains four

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, endemic to the

Mesa Central The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

area of west-central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. They are restricted to the Lerma– Grande de Santiago, Ameca and Grande de

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

river basins, including lakes Chapala,

Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, V ...

, Zirahuén and Cuitzeo. They inhabit stagnant or slow-moving waters such as lakes, ponds, channels and ditches, and prefer shallow depths. They typically have a limited tolerance to

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, and so are susceptible to anthropogenic disturbance. The exception to this is ''S. bilineata'', which is comparatively more tolerant to

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

and seasonal changes in environmental conditions. All four ''Skiffia'' species face some conservation threat and have suffered local extinctions in more than 50% of areas studied where they were previously known to have existed. ''S. lermae'' and ''S. bilineata'' are the most widely distributed of the genus, found over the states of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

and

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

. ''S. multipunctata'' has a restricted distribution in Michoacán and ''S. francesae'' has been declared

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as only consisting of living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

. There is only one locality from which captive ''S. francesae'' stocks have been derived (

Teuchitlán Teuchitlán is a town and municipalities of Jalisco, municipality in Jalisco, central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 219.1 km2 and is from Guadalajara, the capital city. As of 2005, the municipality had a total populatio ...

). Captive populations of ''S. francesae'' are maintained in a variety of locations by aquarium hobbyists, research institutes and zoos. The history of this particular species is unclear, but they are believed to have descended from one stock collected by Dr. R. Miller in 1976;Langhammer, J.K. (1995) ''Skiffia francesae'': A fish on the edge of tomorrow. Can we save it? ''Aquatic Survival: Bulletin of the Aquatic Conservation Network'' 4: Dec 1995. it appears that no other stocks descended from independent samples from this region. They are small fish that generally reach a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

between about . Males are more colorful than females and have markings in yellowish or blackish.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus according to

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

, but ''S. bilineata'' is distinctive and some authorities prefer to place it in its own genus ''Neotoca''. * '' Skiffia bilineata'' ( T. H. Bean, 1887) (Twoline skiffia) * '' Skiffia francesae''

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, 1978 (Golden skiffia) * '' Skiffia lermae''

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

, 1902 (Olive skiffia) * '' Skiffia multipunctata'' ( Pellegrin, 1901) (Spotted skiffia)Pellegin, J. (1901) Poissons reguellis par M.L. Diguet, dans l’État de Jalisco (Mexique). ''Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Paris'' 7: 204 – 207

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3544819 Goodeinae Freshwater fish of Mexico Endemic fish of Mexico Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Seth Eugene Meek Ray-finned fish genera