New Zealand Freshwater Fish

DSC_4839 Feral guppy (Poecilia reticulata) adult male. Guppies are aquarium escapees and have been present for many years in geothermal waters near Reporoa, in the central North Island, they may have been introduced into New Zealand as early as the 1920s. Guppies take their name from Robert John Lechmere Guppy, who was himself, shipwrecked on the coast of New Zealand in 1856. After living with Māori for two years and mapping the Taupo area, Lechmere moved on heading for Trinidad where guppies occur naturally in the wild.

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DSC_4839 Feral guppy (Poecilia reticulata) adult male. Guppies are aquarium escapees and have been present for many years in geothermal waters near Reporoa, in the central North Island, they may have been introduced into New Zealand as early as the 1920s. Guppies take their name from Robert John Lechmere Guppy, who was himself, shipwrecked on the coast of New Zealand in 1856. After living with Māori for two years and mapping the Taupo area, Lechmere moved on heading for Trinidad where guppies occur naturally in the wild.

guppy male DSC 4839 Feral Poecilia reticulata adult aquarium escapee geothermal Reporoa central North Island introduced Robert John Lechmere Guppy 1856 wild trinidad