''Nothobranchius'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small, freshwater

killifish A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish, including families Aplocheilidae, Pantanodontidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Nothobranchiidae, Profundulidae, Aphaniidae and Valenciidae. All together, there ar ...

, classified in the family

Nothobranchiidae Nothobranchiidae are a Family (biology), family of Osteichthyes, bony fishes containing roughly 300 species, also known as African rivulines. They are small killifish, usually measuring about . They are limited to Africa, living in fresh water bu ...

van der Laan, R., Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fricke, R. (2014)
Family-group names of Recent fishes.
''Zootaxa, 3882 (2): 1–230.'' in 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 ...

. There are about a hundred species in the genus, many with very small distributions. They are primarily native to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

from

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

to northern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, whereas a dozen species are found in the upper

Congo River Basin The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

; the greatest

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an community (ecology), ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the Abundance (ecology), abunda ...

is in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. ''Nothobranchius'' typically inhabit ephemeral pools that are filled only during the monsoon season, and show extreme life-history adaptations to survive the dry season. When their habitats dry up, the adult fish die and the eggs survive encased in the clay during the dry season. The embryos survive the dry season by entering

diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It ...

, facilitated by their specialized eggs that have a very hard chorion and are resistant to desiccation and hypoxia.Alexander Dorn, Zuzana Musilová, Matthias Platzer, Kathrin Reichwald and Alessandro Celler (2014
The strange case of East African annual fishes: aridification correlates with diversification for a savannah aquatic group?
''BMC Evolutionary Biology'' 14:210. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-014-0210-3 These species reach maturity very quickly once diapause is broken and have a very short life span; one species, ''

Nothobranchius furzeri ''Nothobranchius furzeri'', the turquoise killifish, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae native to Africa where it is only known from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This annual killifish inhabits ephemeral pools in semi-arid area ...

'', reaches maturity in 17 days and seldom lives beyond 6 months.

Etymology

From Greek νοθοσ / ''nothos'': false, spurious, and βράγχια / ''bránchia'':

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

Species

There are currently 96 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Nothobranchius albertinensis ''Nothobranchius albertinensis'' is a species of brightly colored seasonal killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in north-western Uganda. It is currently known from ephemeral pools and m ...

Nagy Nagy () is a common Hungarian surname, meaning 'big'. The surname is also common among ethnic Hungarians in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, where it is spelled Nađ () and may be transliterated in other languages as Nadj. In Romani ...

, Watters &

Bellstedt Bellstedt is a municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the ...

, 2020 * ''

Nothobranchius albimarginatus ''Nothobranchius albimarginatus'' is a species of fish in the family Aplocheilidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are intermittent rivers and shrub-dominated wetlands. It has only been recorded from two pools on the road betwee ...

'' Watters, Wildekamp &

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), an alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * "Cooper", a song by Roxette from ...

, 1998 * ''

Nothobranchius angelae ''Nothobranchius angelae'' is a species of brightly colored seasonal killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in north-central Tanzania in Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eas ...

'' Watters,

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius annectens'' Watters, Wildekamp &

, 1998 * '' Nothobranchius attenboroughi''

, Watters &

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius balamaensis''

Bragança Bragança may refer to: People *Jaime Celestino Dias Bragança, a Portuguese footballer Politics and History *House of Bragança - A Portuguese Royal House *Duke of Bragança - A Portuguese noble, and later royal, title * Bragança - One of the m ...

& Chakona, 2022 * '' Nothobranchius bellemansi'' Valdesalici, 2014Valdesalici, S. (2014): ''Nothobranchius bellemansi'' and ''Nothobranchius occultus'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) two new annual killifish from Sudan. ''Killi-Data Series, 2014: 4-19.'' * '' Nothobranchius bojiensis'' Wildekamp & Haas, 1992 (Boji Plains nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius boklundi'' Valdesalici, 2010 * '' Nothobranchius brieni''

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

, 1938 * '' Nothobranchius capriviensis'' Watters, Wildekamp & Shidlovskiy, 2015 (Caprivi nothobranchius)Watters, B.R., Wildekamp, R.H. & Shidlovskiy, K.M. (2015): Description and biogeography of ''Nothobranchius capriviensis'', a new species of annual killifish from the Zambezi Region of Namibia (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). ''Journal of the American Killifish Association, 47 (4-6): 97-133.'' * '' Nothobranchius cardinalis'' Watters,

& Wildekamp, 2008 (Cardinal nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius chochamandai''

, 2014Nagy, B. (2014): ''Nothobranchius chochamandai'', a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (2): 167-183.'' * '' Nothobranchius cooperi''

, Watters &

, 2017 * '' Nothobranchius derhami'' Valdesalici &

Amato Amato ( Calabrian: ; ) is an Arbëreshë ''comune'' and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. History Amato is one of the oldest towns in Calabria. It is mentioned by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and by the Roman P ...

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius ditte''

, 2018 * '' Nothobranchius eggersi'' Seegers, 1982 * '' Nothobranchius elongatus'' Wildekamp, 1982 (Elongate nothobranchius) *'' Nothobranchius elucens''

, 2021 * '' Nothobranchius fasciatus'' Wildekamp & Haas, 1992 * '' Nothobranchius flagrans''

, 2014 Nagy, B. (2014): ''Nothobranchius flagrans'', a new species of annual killifish from the Lufira drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (3): 259-276.'' * ''

Nothobranchius flammicomantis The Kisaki nothobranch (''Nothobranchius flammicomantis'') is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors tha ...

'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 1998 * '' Nothobranchius foerschi'' Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 * ''

'' Jubb, 1971 (Turquoise killifish) * ''

Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus ''Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus'' is a species of killifish in the Family (biology), family Nothobranchiidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Tanzania. References Links ''Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus''
on WildNothos Nothobranchius, fuscotaen ...

'' Seegers, 1997 * '' Nothobranchius geminus'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 2002 * '' Nothobranchius guentheri'' (

Pfeffer Pfeffer is a German language, German surname meaning "Black pepper, pepper" and may refer to: * Anna Pfeffer (born 1946), Hungarian Olympic medalist sprint canoer * Anshel Pfeffer, British journalist * Anton Pfeffer (born 1965), Austrian football ...

, 1893) (Red-tail nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius hassoni'' Valdesalici & Wildekamp, 2004 * '' Nothobranchius hengstleri'' Valdesalici, 2007 * ''

Nothobranchius hoermanni ''Nothobranchius hoermanni'' is a species of brightly colored seasonal killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in central Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ...

, Watters &

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius insularis''

Costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

, 2017Costa, W.J.E.M. (2017)
Redescription of ''Nothobranchius lucius'' and description of a new species from Mafia Island, eastern Tanzania (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheilidae).
''Zoosystematics and Evolution, 93 (1): 35-44.'' * '' Nothobranchius interruptus'' Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 (Kikambala nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius itigiensis''

, Watters &

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius ivanovae'' Valdesalici, 2012Valdesalici, S. (2012)
''Nothobranchius kardashevi'' and ''Nothobranchius ivanovae'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae): two new annual killifishes from the Katuma River drainage, western Tanzania.
''aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, 18 (4): 191-198.'' * '' Nothobranchius janpapi'' Wildekamp, 1977 * '' Nothobranchius jubbi'' Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 * '' Nothobranchius kadleci'' Reichard, 2010 * '' Nothobranchius kafuensis'' Wildekamp & Rosenstock, 1989 (Kafue killifish) * '' Nothobranchius kardashevi'' Valdesalici, 2012 * ''

Nothobranchius kilomberoensis ''Nothobranchius kilomberoensis'' is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It ...

'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 2002 * ''

Nothobranchius kirki ''Nothobranchius kirki'', the redfin notho, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae which is endemic to Malawi where it occurs in the drainages of Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa. It inhabits swamps and ephemeral pools. This spec ...

'' Jubb, 1969 (Red-fin nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius korthausae'' Meinken, 1973 * '' Nothobranchius krammeri'' Valdesalici & Hengstler, 2008 * '' Nothobranchius krysanovi'' Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp, 2010 * '' Nothobranchius kwalensis'' W. J. E. M. Costa, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius lourensi'' Wildekamp, 1977 * '' Nothobranchius lucius'' Wildekamp, Shidlovskiy & Watters, 2009 * '' Nothobranchius luekei'' Seegers, 1984 * '' Nothobranchius makondorum'' Wildekamp, Shidlovskiy & Watters, 2009 * '' Nothobranchius malaissei'' Wildekamp, 1978 * '' Nothobranchius matanduensis'' Watters,

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius melanospilus'' (

, 1896) (Black-spotted nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius microlepis'' ( Vinciguerra, 1897) (Small-scaled nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius milvertzi''

, 2014Nagy, B. (2014): ''Nothobranchius milvertzi'', a new species of killifish from the Lushiba Marsh in the Lake Mweru drainage, Zambia (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24 (4): 347-360.'' * '' Nothobranchius mkuziensis'' ( Fowler, 1934) * '' Nothobranchius moameensis''

, Watters &

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius neumanni'' ( Hilgendorf, 1905) * '' Nothobranchius niassa'' Valdesalici, Bills, Dorn, Reichwald & Cellerino, 2012Valdesalici, S., Bills, R., Dorn, A., Reichwald, K. & Cellerino, A. (2012): ''Nothobranchius niassa'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae), a new species of annual killifish from northern Mozambique. ''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 23 (1): 19-28.'' * '' Nothobranchius nikiforovi''

, Watters & Raspopova, 2021 * '' Nothobranchius nubaensis'' Valdesalici, Bellemans, Kardashev &

Golubtsov Golubtsov () is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Golubtsova. It may refer to: * Igor Golubtsov (born 1955), Russian football functionary and coach * Vadim Golubtsov (born 1988), Russian ice hockey player * Valeriya Golubtsov ...

, 2009 * '' Nothobranchius occultus'' Valdesalici, 2014 * '' Nothobranchius ocellatus'' ( Seegers, 1985) * '' Nothobranchius oestergaardi'' Valdesalici &

, 2011 * '' Nothobranchius orthonotus'' ( Peters, 1844) (Spotted killifish) * '' Nothobranchius ottoschmidti'' Watters,

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius palmqvisti'' ( Lönnberg, 1907) * '' Nothobranchius patrizii'' ( Vinciguerra, 1927) (Blue nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius pienaari'' Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp, 2010 * ''

Nothobranchius polli ''Nothobranchius'' is a genus of small, freshwater killifish, classified in the family Nothobranchiidaevan der Laan, R., Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fricke, R. (2014)Family-group names of Recent fishes.''Zootaxa, 3882 (2): 1–230.'' in the order Cyprinod ...

'' Wildekamp, 1978 * '' Nothobranchius prognathus''

, 2019 * ''

Nothobranchius rachovii ''Nothobranchius rachovii'', the bluefin notho, is a species of freshwater annual killifish from Mozambique. It can grow up to 6 cm (2.4").Mongabay �Rainbow Nothobranch Accessed 23 January 2010. It is popular among killifish enthusiasts, wh ...

'' Ahl, 1926 (Blue-fin nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius robustus'' Ahl, 1935 (Red victoria nothobranchius) * ''

Nothobranchius rosenstocki ''Nothobranchius'' is a genus of small, freshwater killifish, classified in the family Nothobranchiidaevan der Laan, R., Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fricke, R. (2014)Family-group names of Recent fishes.''Zootaxa, 3882 (2): 1–230.'' in the order Cyprinod ...

'' Valdesalici & Wildekamp, 2005 * '' Nothobranchius rubripinnis'' Seegers, 1986 * '' Nothobranchius rubroreticulatus'' Blache & Miton, 1960 * '' Nothobranchius rungwaensis'' Watters,

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius ruudwildekampi''

, 2009 * '' Nothobranchius sagittae'' Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy, 2014Wildekamp, R.H., Watters, B.R. & Shidlovskiy, K.M. (2014): Review of the ''Nothobranchius neumanni'' species group with descriptions of three new species from Tanzania (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). ''Journal of the American Killifish Association, 47 (1): 2-30.'' * '' Nothobranchius sainthousei''

, Cotterill &

, 2016Nagy, B., Cotterill, F.P.D. & Bellstedt, D.U. (2016)
''Nothobranchius sainthousei'', a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula River drainage in northern Zambia (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 27 (3): 233-254.'' * '' Nothobranchius seegersi'' Valdesalici & Kardashev, 2011 * '' Nothobranchius serengetiensis'' Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy, 2014 * '' Nothobranchius skeltoni'' Watters,

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius sonjae'' Watters,

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius steinforti'' Wildekamp, 1977 * '' Nothobranchius streltsovi'' Valdesalici ( sv), 2016Valdesalici, S. (2016)
''Nothobranchius streltsovi'', a new species of annual killifish with two male colour morphs from the Malagarasi drainage, central Tanzania (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 27 (2): 153-161.'' * '' Nothobranchius sylvaticus''

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

, 2025Bellstedt, D. U., B. Nagy, P. D. W. van der Merwe, F. P. D. Cotterill, Q. Luke & B. R. Watters. (2025). The description of a critically endangered new species of seasonal killifish, ''Nothobranchius sylvaticus'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae), a relict species from an East African forest refugium in south-eastern Kenya. ''Zootaxa'', 5601 (1): 086–108. * '' Nothobranchius symoensi'' Wildekamp, 1978 * '' Nothobranchius taeniopygus'' Hilgendorf, 1891 (Striped nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius taiti''

, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius torgashevi'' Valdesalici, 2015Valdesalici, S. (2015): ''Nothobranchius torgashevi'' (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) a new species of annual killifish with two male colour morphs from the Lake Eyasi Basin, Central Tanzania. ''Killi-Data Series, 2015: 17-30.'' * '' Nothobranchius ugandensis'' Wildekamp, 1994 (Uganda nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius usanguensis'' Wildekamp, Watters & Shidlovskiy, 2014 * '' Nothobranchius venustus''

, Watters &

, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius virgatus'' Chambers, 1984 * '' Nothobranchius vosseleri'' Ahl, 1924 (Pangani nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius wattersi'' Ng'oma, Valdesalici, Reichwald & Cellerino, 2013Ng'oma, E., Valdesalici, S., Reichwald, K. & Cellerino, A. (2013): Genetic and morphological studies of ''Nothobranchius'' (Cyprinodontiformes) from Malawi with description of ''Nothobranchius wattersi'' sp. nov. ''Journal of Fish Biology, 82 (1): 165–188.'' * '' Nothobranchius willerti'' Wildekamp, 1992 (Mnanzini nothobranchius)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q144094 Nothobranchiidae Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters