Aplocheilidae, the Asian killifishes or Asian rivulines, is a
family of
fish in the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Cyprinodontiformes found in
Asia. Some authorities use this family-group name, which is well-established, for a single lumped aplocheiloid family as it gives the nomenclature stability over time and avoids the impact of a new name at family rank for a popular
aquarium fish
Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums.
In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...
group.
[van der Laan, R., Eschmeyer, W.N. & Fricke, R. (2014)]
Family-group names of Recent fishes.
''Zootaxa, 3882 (2): 1–230.'' Following this proposal, Aplocheilidae would include three subfamilies:
Aplocheilinae for the species from Asia,
Madagascar and the
Seychelles;
Cynolebiinae (formerly called Rivulidae) for the species from the Americas; and
Nothobranchiinae for the species from the African mainland.
[Costa, W.J.E.M. (2016)]
Comparative morphology and classification of South American cynopoeciline killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheilidae), with notes on family-group names used for aplocheiloids.
''Vertebrate Zoology, 66 (2): 125-140.'' However, the 5th edition of ''
Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...
'' still classifies these as separate families,
and at least one 2008 study suggests that even the narrow Aplocheilidae may not be monophyletic, with ''Aplocheilus'' itself possibly being basal to all other Cyprinodontiforms and thus only distantly related to the younger ''Pachypanchax''.
[Hertwig, S. T., 2008 - Zoologica Scripta 37(2): 141-174
Phylogeny of the Cyprinodontiformes (Teleostei, Atherinomorpha): the contribution of cranial soft tissue characters.]
Genera
There are two genera which are currently placed in the family Aplocheilidae:
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q133314
Ray-finned fish families
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker