Aphanius
| Aphanius Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Aphanius fasciatus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Aphaniidae |
| Genus: | Aphanius Nardo, 1827 |
| Type species | |
| Aphanius nanus Nardo, 1827
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Lebias Goldfuss, 1820 (invalid name) | |
Aphanius, commonly referred to as Mediterranean killifish, are a genus of the order Cyprinodontiformes . They are found in fresh and brackish waters in the coastal plains of the Mediterranean region.
Taxonomy and systematics[edit]
There were formerly 39 recognized species in this genus. However, the family Aphaniidae was split in 2020, and species were reallocated to eight monophyletic genera. Several species were reallocated; to five resurrected genera (Anatolichthys, Aphaniops, Kosswigichthys, Paraphanius, and Tellia) and two new genera Esmaeilius and Apricaphanius.[1]
Species[edit]
Following the split, there are two valid species:[1]
- Aphanius almiriensis Kottelat, Barbieri & Stoumboudi, 2007
- Aphanius fasciatus Valenciennes, 1821 (Mediterranean banded killifish)
- Fossil species
- †Aphanius crassicaudus Agassiz 1839[2]
- †Aphanius yerevanicus Vasilyan et al. 2009
- †Lebias cephalotes Agassiz 1839
- †Lebias gaudryi Sauvage 1873
- †Lebias gobio Agassiz 1839
- †Lebias meyeri Agassiz 1839
- †Lebias perpusillus Agassiz 1839
Fossil record[edit]
Fossils of extinct species, including A. crassicaudatus and A. yerevanicus, are known as far back as the Early Miocene of the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions.[3] are Fossils of Aphanius are found in strata of the Pleistocene of Italy (age range: from 11.608 to 5.332 million years ago.).[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Jörg Freyhof; Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu (July 2020). "A proposal for a new generic structure of the killifish family Aphaniidae, with the description of Aphaniops teimorii (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes)". Zootaxa. 4810 (3): 421–451. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4810.3.2.
- ^ A. crassicaudus at Fossilworks[dead link]
- ^ Reichenbacher, Bettina; Kowalke, Thorsten (2009-10-01). "Neogene and present-day zoogeography of killifishes (Aphanius and Aphanolebias) in the Mediterranean and Paratethys areas". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 281 (1): 43–56. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.07.008. ISSN 0031-0182.
- ^ "†Lebias Agassiz 1832 (ray-finned fish)". Paleobiology Database.