45. Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859 ―Guppy― Exotic

Taxonomy. Original description: Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859:412 [ Guayre River, Caracas, Venezuela; Syntypes: BMNH 1866.6.6.3 [ex ZMB] (1); ZMB 3468 (9), 3469 (8, lost)]. Synonyms: Girardinus guppii Günther, 1866 .

Status in the Arabian Peninsula. First record from Saudi Arabia by Al-Kahem-Al-Balawi et al. (2008); confirmed by Freyhof et al. (2020).

General distribution. Northern South America: coastal drainages between the Orinoco delta (Venezuela) and the Essequibo River delta, Guyana, Venezuelan Islands, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago; widely introduced elsewhere. Habitat: freshwater, brackish.

Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia: Wadi Hanifah in Riyadh province, Al-Kharj and Layla Lake south of Riyadh, and Al-Ahsa Oasis, Anik drainage in eastern province.

Economic importance. Valuable for the aquarium trade.

Reasons of introduction. Ornamental fish industry.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).