Poecilia velifera ( Regan, 1914 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 469-470

Poecilia velifera ( Regan, 1914) [I]—Sail-fin molly; Moly mifrasan

Taxonomy. Original description: Mollienesia velifera Regan, 1914: 3 , pl. 3 [Freshwater ponds in the vicinity of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; lectotype: MNHN B-0929].— Israel synonyms: None.—Revisions: Miller (2006: 234).—Illustration: Miller (2006: 235, fig. 6.275).

Status in Israel. First record from Israel by Goren & Ortal (1999); confirmed by Golani & Mires (2000), Golani et al. (2022).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Slow-flowing spring in the Jordan River basin and in the coastal plain.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Western Basin, 2-Dead Sea Basin.—General distribution: Southern North America: Atlantic slope of southeastern Mexico; also, Colombia (introduced) and elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: is restricted to coastal habitats, mostly brackish but also freshwater, such as cenotes (karstic sinkholes), mangrove channels, coastal lagoons, and salt marshes. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. Valuable for the aquarium trade.

Reasons of introduction. Ornamental fish industry.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).