About the name "swordtail fish"...

[emeraldking]

To those who still think that the name 'swordtail fish" refers to the sword of a male swordtail fish, think twice...!
The name 'swordtail fish" does not refer to the sword of a male at all... It only refers to the gonopodium of a swordtail fish. Nothing more, nothing less... For in the wild there are also swordtail species that don't carry a sword at all. And there are wild platy species that do carry a swordtail. Even the genus "Xiphophorus" (consists of swordtail and platy species) refers to the gonopodium of the male.
For a lot of people still think that it's got to do with the sword. But that's totally incorrect. But it's just that we are so used to associate the name "swordtail fish" with the sword of a male swordtail fish.

 

[Back in the fold]

Never heard this before.

 

[Uberhoust]

News to me. Makes sense to a degree.

 

[FranciscoB]

I am skeptic, but can't claim to know the actual origin of the name. For instance, how come none of the Poecilia or Belonesox have ever been called swordtails? I think it is more about the tails, although it is true that it is not in all species.

 

[GaryE]

If you watch how the uh, 'swords' swivel and point in all directions, I guess it could look like fencing...

Xiphophorus means 'dagger or sword bearer', and the fact it is applied to the whole Genus which I think now sits at 28 platys and swords backs up the gonopodium theory. It's there in the name. There are a lot of livebearers in a bunch of Genuses that have the same basic fin structure, but I think it depends on the eye of the person who named them. I would never have seen a dagger or a sword there. If I'd named them they would have been Poolcuephorus. or Littlepointystickophorus.

 

[FranciscoB]

But swordTAILS!

 

[betta4ever!]

Really interesting! Thanks for letting us know!

 

[GaryE]

But swordTAILS!

I think we have a doubling on the same. Some "sword bearers" have swordtails. Some don't.

I get the sense that in some languages, they are called swordfish, and in some English circles, just swords. English trade names always confuse the issue, though I have never been quite sure how to pronounce "Xiphophorus"...

The ones that don't can be fantastic fish, but they tend to be unpopular and for aquarists who really like livebearer diversity.

 

[emeraldking]

The thing is that we are all used to associate the name "swordtail fish" to the sword of the male. But again, it's got nothing to do with the sword itself. As in the wild, there are swordtail species that totally won't develop a sword. And there are platy species in the wild that do develop a sword (but mostly short).
But the commercial world itself made a distinction that swordtail fish have a sword and platy fish don't. And that that is the definition of being a swordtail fish or a platy fish. To people like us, it shows a lack of knowledge or that marketingwise that their definition would be better for sales. Same thing thatcommerciallywise, a lot of short sized guppies are sold as being endlers.

You should look at the time frame that the name "swordtail fish" was given. At that time when research was done, they looked at the sexual organs first. There are more livebearer genera that are named after their genitals, like e.g. Flexipenis, Phallichthys and Xenophallus.

It happens with all kinds of living creatures and things like for instance a certain brand of a hot tub called "Jacuzzi". We are so used to name every hot tub a Jacuzzi while it's just a brand that we associate with a hot tub. For there are also other brands that manufacture hot tubs but aren't Jacuzzi.

The ones that don't can be fantastic fish, but they tend to be unpopular and for aquarists who really like livebearer diversity.

To people like me who have dived into the deeper matter of livebearers, are known with these facts of common livebearers and rare livebearers. To an average aquarist who has a nice community tank, the rare livebearers are of no interest. While to people like me (and worldwide there are many of them), those rare livebearers are very interesting to keep. But also the deeper knowledge of common livebearers are of more interest to us than to an average aquarist.

Never heard this before.

A lot of people don't know this because they are so used to associate the name "swordtail fish" to the sword of a male swordtail fish.

I am skeptic, but can't claim to know the actual origin of the name. For instance, how come none of the Poecilia or Belonesox have ever been called swordtails? I think it is more about the tails, although it is true that it is not in all species.

Like I've mentioned above, you should look at the time frame when they've researched each species and named them. When it comes to swordtail fish, they named them by looking at the sexual male organ. Not all livebearer species have been discovered at the same time and the same thing about the research on them. And I've mentioned some other names that are named after the sexual organ of an ovoviviparous male livebearer.

But swordTAILS!

Yes, read my replies above...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There is a pretty neat resource for info about Xiphophorus. A history of the species can be found in this site:
WELCOME TO THE XIPHOPHORUS GENETIC STOCK CENTER Dedicated Research Resource for the Poeciliid fish genus Xiphophorus

Perhaps the most interesting things about these fish is the role they have played and continue to play in the field of cancer research.