Morphology and genetics reveal the occurrence of Girardinus falcatus (Eigenmann, 1903) (Cyprinodontiformes, Poeciliidae) in eastern Cuba

Abstract

Girardinus is a Cuban genus of poeciliid fishes. It comprises 7 freshwater-restricted species most of them inhabiting specific ecosystems or regions within the island. Girardinus falcatus, the Gold-bellied Topminnow, is common in lowlands of western and central Cuba but thought not to be present in the East. Herein we provide the first wellsupported evidence of the occurrence of this species in eastern Cuba. Sixteen specimens were collected and identified primarily by body shape and coloration, and corroborated by gonopodial morphology and by sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b.