Nothobranchius
| Nothobranchius | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Nothobranchius rachovii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Nothobranchiidae |
| Genus: |
Nothobranchius W. K. H. Peters, 1868 |
| Type species | |
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Cyprinodon orthonotus (W. K. H. Peters, 1844) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Adiniops Myers, 1924 |
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Adiniops Myers, 1924
Fundulosoma Ahl, 1924
Zononothobranchius Radda, 1969
Aphyobranchius Wildekamp, 1977
Paranothobranchius Seegers, 1985
Nothobranchius is a genus of small, freshwater annual fish. It has been alternatively classified in the family Nothobranchiidae or a more inclusive Aplocheilidae The species are mainly found in East Africa from Sudan to northern South Africa, but half a dozen species are found in the upper Congo River Basin and two species (N. rubroreticulatus and N. thierryi) are from west-central Africa. The greatest species richness is in Tanzania. Many species have very small distributions. There are many species: as of 2016 there are more than 70 species.
Nothobranchius are typical annual killifish, part of the order Cyprinodontiformes. They inhabit ephemeral pools filled during the monsoon season, being adapted to the alteration of dry and wet seasons. Nothobranchius show extreme life-history adaptations: embryos survive by entering diapause, within eggs that have a very hard chorion and are resistant to desiccation and hypoxia. When the habitats dry up, the adult fish die and the eggs survive encased in the clay during the dry season. The genus includes the vertebrates with the shortest life span. N. furzeri from Mozambique and Zimbabwe lives for between 3 and 6 months. It reaches maturity in 17 days.
Greek "nothos": false, spurious, and "branchia": gill.
There are currently 75 recognized species in this genus:
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Wikipedia