page_title: Desert pupfish
section_title: Habitat and distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Desert pupfish / Habitat and distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Distribution of C. macularius.
context_page_description: The desert pupfish is a rare species of bony fish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is a small fish, typically less than 7.62 cm in length. Males are generally larger than females, and have bright-blue coloration, while females and juveniles are silvery or tan. A notable attribute of the desert pupfish is their ability to survive in environments of extreme salinity, pH, and temperature, and low oxygen content. The desert pupfish mates in a characteristic fashion, wherein compatible males and females will contact each other, form an s-shape, and jerk. Each jerk typically produces a single egg that is fertilized by the male and deposited in his territory. Breeding behavior includes aggressive arena-breeding and more docile consort-pair breeding.
  The desert pupfish is a federally listed endangered species in the United States. The desert pupfish was once a common fish, but it is now extirpated from most of its historical natural range. The decrease in population has been a trend since the early 1900s due to habitat destruction and fragmentation. It has been, and continues to be, preyed upon and displaced by non-native fishes, such as tilapia.
context_section_description: The desert pupfish is found in shallow waters of desert springs, small streams, and marshes below 1,524 m (5,000 ft) in elevation. The species can tolerate high salinities, water temperatures, and lower oxygen content than most fish, and will occupy habitats inhospitable to invasive fish. Pupfish typically prefer clear waters with either rooted or unattached aquatic plants, restricted surface flow, or sand-silt substrates, and will do well if their habitats have little vegetation apart from mats of benthic algae.
  The distribution of the desert pupfish historically ranged from the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California to the Gulf of Mexico and onto its delta in Sonora and Baja California. Specifically, the desert pupfish occurred the Salton Sink basin in California; the Gila River basin in Arizona and Sonora, including the Gila, Santa Cruz, San Pedro, and Salt Rivers; the Rio Sonoyta in Arizona and Sonora; Puerto Peñasco, Sonora; and the Laguna Salada basin in Baja California.  A large population of desert pupfish is protected at the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.  Due to both habitat destruction and species reclassification, however, the desert pupfish has a smaller territory distribution than previously thought.
  As of 2010, naturally occurring populations of the desert pupfish are restricted in the United States to two tributaries and various shoreline pools and irrigation drains of the Salton Sea in California. In Mexico, the desert pupfish is scattered along the Colorado River Delta and the Laguna Salada basin. Collectively, there are 11 known populations of extant wild desert pupfish within the United States and Mexico. Attempted reintroductions have yielded 16 transplanted populations in Arizona, as well as 46 captive or refuge populations in Arizona, California, and Mexico.
caption: U.S. distribution of C. macularius.
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