Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 [I]—Eastern mosquitofish

Taxonomy. Original description: Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859: 390 [Palatka, eastern Florida, (Palatka, eastern Florida and Charleston, South Carolina), USA; lectotype: ANSP 6976; lectotype selected by Huber (2019: 64)].— Iraq synonyms: None.—Revisions: Rauchenberger (1989: 3).—Illustration: McEachran & Fechhelm (1998: 924, fig.); Esmaeili (2021: 313, fig. 17.18).

Status in Iraq. First record from Iraq by the government of Iraq during 1950s to combat malaria); confirmed by Jawad (2003); Al-Faisal et al. (2014).—Iraq materials: Fish Collection of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq; Fish collection at the Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Widespread all basins of Iraq.—General distribution: North America: Atlantic and Gulf Coast drainages, eastern USA; widely introduced elsewhere for mosquito control.—Habitat: This species often occurs in shallow, often stagnant ponds and the shallow edges of lakes and streams where predatory fishes are largely absent and temperatures are high. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Reasons of introduction. Bio-control: to prevent eutrophication, aquatic plants, and pest control.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).