Extinct fish make comeback at Bristol Zoo

A species of fish that is extinct in the wild has been bred at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

A group of Potosí pupfish arrived from ZSL London Zoo earlier this year in the hope they would breed here.

Keepers were thrilled when spawning behaviour was observed soon after the fish were introduced. The fry are now six weeks old and just a few centimetres long. Bristol Zoo and ZSL London Zoo are the only two institutions in the UK working together to safeguard this species through a conservation breeding programme.

It is hoped numbers will be boosted in captivity through co-ordinated breeding.

Jonny Rudd, assistant curator of the aquarium at Bristol Zoo, said: "The Potosí pupfish belongs to the killifish family, which is made up of more than 1,200 different species of small, egg-laying ray-finned fish. They are silver with a lovely blue finish, making them mesmerising to watch."

Potosi pupfish were native to North America and Mexico where they lived in freshwater. They are now classed as extinct in the wild, according to the IUCN Red List of threatened species

Extinction of the Potosí pupfish may have been caused by the demise of their natural habitats – clear springs, ponds and ditches with dense vegetation and green algae.

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