Butterfly Splitfin

Ameca splendens

Range

• Mexico

Habitat

• Rivers & springs

Diet

• Small insects
• Invertebrates.

This fish gets its name from the black and yellow markings on the male’s tail fin.

Before mating, the male shakes the front of his body in a courtship ritual. Like other members of the Goodeidae family, butterfly splitfins give birth to live young. Common in captivity, these fish are almost extinct in the wild. Their already small habitat is shrinking due to agriculture, pollution, and modifications to the waterways.