Cuban gambusia

Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox The Cuban gambusia, spotted gambusia or blue gambusia (Gambusia punctata)<ref>Template:ITIS</ref> is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, and is the type species of its genus.<ref name = CofF>Template:Cof record</ref> It is native to Cuba, inhabiting lakes, ponds and streams, including mountain streams. A carnivorous surface feeder, it occurs in shoals near the shoreline. It be found in estuarine habitat.<ref name=iucnredlist/><ref name=sgcoi>Template:Cite web</ref>

This species has the terminal, upward-facing mouth typical of surface feeders, and a protruding belly. It has four or five rows of darkly spotted scales, possibly forming a dark lateral stripe in the case of the midline row. The dorsal and caudal fins are typically partially spotted.<ref name=sgcoi/> Males reach a maximum standard length (SL) of around 4.8 cm, with females reaching about 7.0 cm.<ref>Template:FishBase</ref> Record SL for this species is 10 cm.<ref name=iucnredlist/>

Gambusia punctata is part of a species complex including G. rhizophorae, G. xanthosoma, G. beebei and G. pseudopunctata.<ref name=garciamachado2020>Template:Cite journal</ref> Additional cryptic species have been proposed to exist within the range of G. punctata on the basis of mitochondrial haplogroup data.<ref name=garciamachado2020/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>