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The desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) has a restricted distribution, confined to southern Arizona, Southern California and northwest Mexico. It inhabits desert springs and streams, but its populations are threatened by habitat destruction and the introduction of exotic fishes such as the similarly sized mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), introduced into desert regions from the Mississippi basin in attempts to control mosquito larvae. The desert pupfish grows to about 6 cm length. The females are silvery-olive; the breeding males are irridescent blue. Photograph taken in an aquarium in the Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona. A significant population of desert pupfish occurs in the spring-fed streams that drain into Quitobaquito, a natural desert oasis in the extreme south of the Organ Pipe National Monument (Arizona) next to the border with Mexico.
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