''Paraphanius'' 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
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 ...
es 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 ...
, which are native to western Asia (including
Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
). Several species in the genus have very limited distribution and may be
threatened
A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...
.
Etymology
The generic name is derived from , "near", and ''
Aphanius
''Aphanius'', commonly referred to as Mediterranean killifish, is a genus of the order Cyprinodontiformes in the family Aphaniidae. They are found in fresh and brackish waters in the coastal plains of the Mediterranean region.
Taxonomy and syst ...
'', the genus from which they were split in 2020.
It is a
sister genus
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
to ''Aphanius'' and ''
Aphaniops''.
Species
There are seven valid species:
* ''
Paraphanius alexandri''
(Akşiray, 1948)
* ''
Paraphanius boulengeri''
(Akşiray, 1948)
* ''
Paraphanius mento''
( Heckel, 1843) (Pearl-spotted killifish)
* ''
Paraphanius mentoides''
(Akşiray, 1948)
* ''
Paraphanius orontis''
(Akşiray, 1948)
* ''
Paraphanius similis''
(Akşiray, 1948)
* ''
Paraphanius striptus''
(Goren, 1974)
References
Further reading
*
*
Cyprinodontidae
Freshwater fish genera
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