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 ...
of small
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% ...
, up to long, 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 ...
. They are found in southeastern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...
Atlantic rainforest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...
or temporary pools in open habitats. Several ''Leptopanchax'' species are very rare and '' L. sanguineus'' is possibly extinct.
Species
The species in ''Leptopanchax'' were formerly included in ''
Leptolebias
''Leptolebias'' is a ray-finned fish genus of the killifish family Rivulidae. Like many of their relatives, they are rather ambiguously known as " pearlfish".
They are endemic to the coastal areas of Brazil, where they inhabit ephemeral pools in ...
'', but this makes the latter genus
paraphyletic
In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
, although they are still placed in that genus by
Fishbase
FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.
.
There are currently 6 recognized species in ''Leptopanchax'':
* ''
Leptopanchax aureoguttatus
''Leptopanchax'' is a genus of small fish, up to long, in the family Rivulidae. They are found in southeastern Brazil from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro.Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline ...
Leptopanchax citrinipinnis
''Leptopanchax'' is a genus of small fish, up to long, in the family Rivulidae. They are found in southeastern Brazil from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro.Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline ...
Leptopanchax itanhaensis
''Leptopanchax'' is a genus of small fish, up to long, in the family Rivulidae. They are found in southeastern Brazil from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro.Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline ...
Leptopanchax opalescens
''Leptolebias opalescens'', also known as the opal pearlfish is a species of killifish in the family (biology), family Aplocheilidae endemism, endemic to Brazil.Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cyn ...
Leptopanchax sanguineus
''Leptopanchax'' is a genus of small fish, up to long, in the family Rivulidae. They are found in southeastern Brazil from Paraná to Rio de Janeiro.Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline ...
Leptopanchax splendens
''Leptolebias splendens'', also known as the Splendid pearlfish is a species of killifish in the family Rivulidae endemic to Brazil,Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline killifishes (Cypri ...