Aphanius
Genus of fishes
title: "Aphanius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aphanius", "cyprinodontidae", "freshwater-fish-genera", "taxa-named-by-giovanni-domenico-nardo", "taxonomy-articles-created-by-polbot"] description: "Genus of fishes" topic_path: "general/aphanius" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphanius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of fishes ::
| image = Aphanius fasciatus male.jpg | image_caption = Aphanius fasciatus | fossil_range = | taxon = Aphanius | authority = Nardo, 1827 | type_species = Aphanius nanus | type_species_authority = Nardo, 1827 | synonyms = Lebias Goldfuss, 1820 (invalid name)
Micromugil Gulia, 1861
Aphanius, commonly referred to as Mediterranean killifish, is a genus of the order Cyprinodontiformes in the family Aphaniidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters in the coastal plains of the Mediterranean region.
Taxonomy and systematics
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.
Species
Following the split, there are two valid species:
- Aphanius almiriensis Kottelat, Barbieri & Stoumboudi, 2007
- Aphanius fasciatus Valenciennes, 1821 (Mediterranean banded killifish)
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Cyprinodontidae_-_Aphanius_crassicaudus.JPG" caption="Fossil of ''Aphanius crassicaudus''"] ::
;Fossil species
- Aphanius crassicaudus Agassiz 1839
- 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
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. are Fossils of Aphanius are found in strata of the Pleistocene of Italy (age range: from 11.608 to 5.332 million years ago.).
References
References
- Jörg Freyhof. (July 2020). "A proposal for a new generic structure of the killifish family Aphaniidae, with the description of ''Aphaniops teimorii'' (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes)". Zootaxa.
- [https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=334582 ''A. crassicaudus'' at Fossilworks]
- (2009-10-01). "Neogene and present-day zoogeography of killifishes (''Aphanius'' and ''Aphanolebias'') in the Mediterranean and Paratethys areas". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
- "†''Lebias'' Agassiz 1832 (ray-finned fish)".
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