Chris Anderson and Michael Barton, Division of Science and Mathematics, Centre College, 600 W. Walnut Street, Danville, KY 40422

Abstract. Pupfishes of the genus Cyprinodon are common inhabitants of coastal and inland waters along the Atlantic coast as well as throughout the Bahamian archipelago and the Caribbean. These fishes present a unique opportunity to address fundamental questions concerning the ecology and adaptations of organisms to unusual environmental circumstances. The insularity afforded by the inland waters of the Bahamas provides a remarkable natural laboratory to assess speciation phenomena. Two species of pupfishes of the genus Cyprinodon have been provisionally identified as inhabiting the inland waters of New Providence Island. One species, C. laciniatus, was first described in 1942, as an endemic known only from two lakes in New Providence. To date, no comprehensive life history investigations have been done on this species. A visual census of C. laciniatus was conducted in one of the lakes to determine population density, depth, and microhabitat preferences. Sampling from several inland bodies of water revealed variation in length-weight relationships and fecundity suggesting the existence of a species complex in New Providence consisting of C. laciniatus, C. variegatus, as well as several intermediate forms. Preliminary biochemical analysis (DNA fingerprinting) of the sampled populations support this claim.