''Laimosemion'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rivulidae The Rivulidae are a family of killifishes in the order Cyprinodontiformes. They are commonly known as rivulids, South American killifish or New World killifish. The latter names are slightly misleading, however, as they are neither restricted to ...

from the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

and basins in the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude of .Vermeulen, F.B.M., Suijker, W.H. & Collier, G.E. (2012): ''Laimosemion paryagi'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheiloidei: Rivulidae), a new species from the upper Mazaruni river drainage of Western Guyana. ''aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, 18 (4): 181-190.'' Like their relatives, the adult ''Laimosemion'' often inhabit very small isolated waters, but they are not annual species like some other

killifish A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish (including families Aplocheilidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Profundulidae and Valenciidae). All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest famil ...

. The adults can move some distance over land to find another water source. They do this by repeatedly flipping their body. They commonly complete their life cycle in the water, often laying their eggs among plant material. However, their eggs can survive several days of drought, only hatching when again covered by water. The largest are up to in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

, but most ''Laimosemion'' species only reach around half that size.

Species

Until 2011, ''Laimosemion'' were included in ''

Rivulus ''Rivulus'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the Cyprinodontiformes family Rivulidae. It was traditionally considered to be the largest genus in its family; however, the genus's size is currently in dispute. Wilson J. E. Costa split this ge ...

'', and some prefer to maintain them in that genus. If recognized as a valid genus, there are currently 29 species in ''Laimosemion'': * ''

Laimosemion agilae ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altit ...

'' ( Hoedeman, 1954) * ''

Laimosemion altivelis ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' (

Huber Huber is a German-language surname. It derives from the German word ''Hube'' meaning hide, a unit of land a farmer might possess, granting them the status of a free tenant. It is in the top ten most common surnames in the German-speaking world, ...

, 1992) * ''

Laimosemion amanapira ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( W. J. E. M. Costa, 2004) * ''

Laimosemion anitae ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' Dalton Tavares Bressane Nielsen, Jan Willem Hoetmer and Eric Vandekerkhove, Dalton Tavares Bressane Nielsen, Jan Willem Hoetmer and Eric Vandekerkhove, 2020, Laimosemion anitae, a new species of Laimosemion genus, subgenus c (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) from Rio Juruá drainage, Amazon Basin, Brazil, AQUA International Journal of Ichthyology, aqua 28 (1) pp. 37-43 * ''

Laimosemion breviceps ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( C. H. Eigenmann, 1909) * ''

Laimosemion cladophorus ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' (

, 1991) * ''

Laimosemion dibaphus ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( G. S. Myers, 1927) * ''

Laimosemion frenatus ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( C. H. Eigenmann, 1912) * ''

Laimosemion geayi ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( Vaillant, 1899) * ''

Laimosemion gransabanae ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( Lasso A., Taphorn & Thomerson, 1992) * ''

Laimosemion jauaperi ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' W. J. E. M. Costa & Bragança, 2013Costa, W.J.E.M. & Bragança, P.H.N. (2013): A new miniature killifish of the genus ''Laimosemion'', subgenus ''Owiyeye'', from the Negro river drainage, Brazilian Amazon (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24 (1): 93-96.'' * ''

Laimosemion kirovskyi ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( W. J. E. M. Costa, 2004) * ''

Laimosemion leticia ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' Valdesalici, 2016Valdesalici, S. (2016): ''Laimosemion leticia'' (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), a new species from the upper Rio Amazonas, Southern Colombia. ''Zootaxa, 4085 (2): 279–284.'' * ''

Laimosemion lyricauda ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altit ...

'' ( Thomerson, Berkenkamp & Taphorn, 1991) * '' Laimosemion mabura'' Valdesalici & García-Gil, 2015Valdesalici, S. & Gil, J.R.G. (2015): ''Laimosemion mabura'', a new killifish from the Essequibo River drainage, Guyana (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae). ''aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, 21 (4): 166-171.'' * ''

Laimosemion mahdiaensis ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altit ...

'' ( Suijker & Collier, 2006) * ''

Laimosemion nicoi ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occ ...

'' ( Thomerson & Taphorn, 1992) * '' Laimosemion paryagi''

Vermeulen Vermeulen is a Dutch toponymic or occupational surname, meaning "from the (wind/water) mill" (modern Dutch ''molen''). It is a contraction of the surname Van der Meulen. In the Netherlands 20,633 people carried the name in 2007, making it the 30th ...

, Suijker & Collier, 2012 (Paryag's killifish) * ''

Laimosemion rectocaudatus ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altit ...

'' ( Fels & de Rham, 1981) * '' Laimosemion romeri'' ( W. J. E. M. Costa, 2003) * ''

Laimosemion sape ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( Lasso-Alcalá, Taphorn, Lasso A. & León-Mata, 2006) * '' Laimosemion staecki'' ( I. Schindler & Valdesalici, 2011) * '' Laimosemion strigatus'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1912) * '' Laimosemion tecminae'' ( Thomerson,

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pla ...

& Taphorn, 1992) * ''

Laimosemion tomasi ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occ ...

'' (Vermeulen, Valdesalici & Garcia-Gil, 2013) * ''

Laimosemion torrenticola ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occ ...

'' (

& Isbrücker, 2000) * ''

Laimosemion uakti ''Laimosemion'' is a genus of fish in the family Rivulidae from the Amazon basin and basins in the Guiana Shield in tropical South America. They mostly inhabit small streams, creeks, swamps and pools in lowlands, but locally occur to an altitude ...

'' ( W. J. E. M. Costa, 2004) * '' Laimosemion uatuman'' ( W. J. E. M. Costa, 2004) * '' Laimosemion ubim'' W. J. E. M. Costa & Lazzarotto, 2014Costa, W.J.E.M. & Lazzarotto, H. (2014): ''Laimosemion ubim'', a new miniature killifish from the Brazilian Amazon (Teleostei: Rivulidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24 (4): 371-389.'' * '' Laimosemion xiphidius'' (

, 1979)

References

Rivulidae Freshwater fish genera {{Cyprinodontiformes-stub