Poecilia Bloch & Schneider, 1801, is a genus of freshwaterfish in family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The type species is P. vivipara. Live-bearers, the Poecilia species are collectively known as mollies, with the exception of the famous guppy (P. reticulata).
IUCN list two of the species, P. sulphuraria and P. latipunctata (the broadspotted molly) as Critically Endangered.
The generic name Poecilia derives from the Greekποικίλος (variegated), in reference to the fishes' coloration.
"Poecilia." ITIS Standard Report. (Integrated Taxonomic Information System: National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., 2004-06-08). ITIS 165897 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=165897)
"Poecilia." FishBase. ed. Froese, R. and D. Pauly (04/2004), Poecilia (http://www.fishbase.org/Eschmeyer/GeneraSummary.cfm?ID=Poecilia)