''Aphanius'', commonly referred to as Mediterranean killifish, is a genus of the order

Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontiformes is an order (biology), order of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, freshwater fish. Many popular aquarium fish, such as killifish and Poeciliidae, live-bearers, are included. They are closely related t ...

in the family

Aphaniidae Aphaniidae, the Oriental killifishes, are a family of the order Cyprinodontiformes. The 42 extant species of the family inhabit inland waters, rivers and lagoons. The distribution of these species extends from the entire Mediterranean region th ...

. 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 In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

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 Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, there are two valid species: * '' Aphanius almiriensis'' Kottelat, Barbieri & Stoumboudi, 2007 * '' Aphanius fasciatus''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1821 (Mediterranean banded killifish) ;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 The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

of the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions. are Fossils of ''Aphanius'' are found in strata of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

of Italy (age range: from 11.608 to 5.332 million years ago.).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1431202 Cyprinodontidae Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Giovanni Domenico Nardo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot