Mexican tetra: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Mexican tetra lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Astyanax mexicanus
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	2 countries
Continents	North America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Characiformes
Family	Characidae

Where does the Mexican tetra live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Mexican tetra in 2 countries and territories across North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Mexican tetra endangered?

The Mexican tetra’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Mexican tetra?

The Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Characiformes and the family Characidae, genus Astyanax. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Mexican tetra

The Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus), also known as the blind cave fish, blind cave characin or the blind cave tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in the lower Rio Grande, and the Nueces and Pecos Rivers in Texas, into the Central Plateau and eastern states of Mexico.

Maturing at a total length of about 12 cm (4.7 in), the Mexican tetra is of typical characin form, albeit with silvery, unremarkable scalation, likely an evolutionary adaptation to its natural environment. By comparison, the species' blind "cave" form has scales which evolved a depigmented, pinkish-white color, somewhat resembling an albino, as it inhabits pitch-black caverns and subterranean streams and has no need for a colorful appearance (i.e. for attracting mates, camouflage, UV protection).

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mexican tetra (revision 1374299246), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q135378 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).