''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'', 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'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius albimarginatus'' Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper, 1998 * '' Nothobranchius angelae'' Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius annectens'' Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper, 1998 * '' Nothobranchius attenboroughi'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius balamaensis'' Bragança & 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, Cooper & Wildekamp, 2008 (Cardinal nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius chochamandai'' Nagy, 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'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 2017 * '' Nothobranchius derhami'' Valdesalici & Amato, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius ditte'' Nagy, 2018 * '' Nothobranchius eggersi'' Seegers, 1982 * '' Nothobranchius elongatus'' Wildekamp, 1982 (Elongate nothobranchius) *'' Nothobranchius elucens'' Nagy, 2021 * '' Nothobranchius fasciatus'' Wildekamp & Haas, 1992 * '' Nothobranchius flagrans'' Nagy, 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'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 1998 * '' Nothobranchius foerschi'' Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 * '' Nothobranchius furzeri'' Jubb, 1971 (Turquoise killifish) * '' Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus'' Seegers, 1997 * '' Nothobranchius geminus'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 2002 * '' Nothobranchius guentheri'' ( Pfeffer, 1893) (Red-tail nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius hassoni'' Valdesalici & Wildekamp, 2004 * '' Nothobranchius hengstleri'' Valdesalici, 2007 * '' Nothobranchius hoermanni'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius insularis'' Costa, 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'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 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'' Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse, 2002 * '' Nothobranchius kirki'' 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, Nagy & Bellstedt, 2020 * '' Nothobranchius melanospilus'' ( Pfeffer, 1896) (Black-spotted nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius microlepis'' ( Vinciguerra, 1897) (Small-scaled nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius milvertzi'' Nagy, 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'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 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'' Nagy, Watters & Raspopova, 2021 * '' Nothobranchius nubaensis'' Valdesalici, Bellemans, Kardashev & Golubtsov, 2009 * '' Nothobranchius occultus'' Valdesalici, 2014 * '' Nothobranchius ocellatus'' ( Seegers, 1985) * '' Nothobranchius oestergaardi'' Valdesalici & Amato, 2011 * '' Nothobranchius orthonotus'' ( Peters, 1844) (Spotted killifish) * '' Nothobranchius ottoschmidti'' Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius palmqvisti'' ( Lönnberg, 1907) * '' Nothobranchius patrizii'' ( Vinciguerra, 1927) (Blue nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius pienaari'' Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp, 2010 * '' Nothobranchius polli'' Wildekamp, 1978 * '' Nothobranchius prognathus'' Costa, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius rachovii'' Ahl, 1926 (Blue-fin nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius robustus'' Ahl, 1935 (Red victoria nothobranchius) * '' Nothobranchius rosenstocki'' Valdesalici & Wildekamp, 2005 * '' Nothobranchius rubripinnis'' Seegers, 1986 * '' Nothobranchius rubroreticulatus'' Blache & Miton, 1960 * '' Nothobranchius rungwaensis'' Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius ruudwildekampi'' Costa, 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'' Nagy, Cotterill & Bellstedt, 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, Nagy & Bellstedt, 2019 * '' Nothobranchius sonjae'' Watters, Nagy & Bellstedt, 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'' Nagy, Bellstedt & Luke, 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'' Nagy, 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'' Nagy, Watters & Bellstedt, 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