Butterfly splitfin
| Butterfly splitfin | |
|---|---|
| Male in "relaxed" coloration. Note andropodium at anal fin | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Goodeidae |
| Subfamily: | Goodeinae |
| Genus: | Ameca R. R. Miller & Fitzsimons, 1971 |
| Species: | A. splendens |
| Binomial name | |
| Ameca splendens R. R. Miller & Fitzsimons, 1971 | |
The butterfly splitfin or butterfly goodeid (Ameca splendens) is a bony fish from the monotypic genus Ameca of the splitfin family (Goodeidae). It was formerly found throughout the Ameca River drainage in Mexico; the type locality is Rio Teuchitlán in the vicinity of Teuchitlán, Jalisco. The species was only ever found in an area about 10 miles (15 km) in diameter.
Today, the species is rated as critically endangered by the IUCN. A remnant population has been found to persist in El Rincón waterpark near the town of Ameca. Possibly, it also exists in a feral state in the United States; individuals apparently derived from escaped or introduced captive stock were met with in southeastern Nevada, but this was over forty years ago. For some time, it was a popular fish among aquarists, but hobbyist stocks have declined recently, placing its survival in jeopardy.