Apricaphanius saourensis, the Sahara aphanius or Sahara killifish, is a species of freshwater pupfish belonging to the family Aphaniidae.[1][2][3] It is endemic to the Oued Saoura river basin in Algeria.[1] The species is threatened by water pollution and water withdrawal for agricultural use. It was last observed in the wild in 2003. Later surveys have not encountered the species, although a captive population exists; it was last evaluated by the IUCN 2021 and listed as critically endangered, possibly extinct in the wild.[1][4][5][6][7]
| Apricaphanius saourensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Aphaniidae |
| Genus: | Apricaphanius |
| Species: | A. saourensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Apricaphanius saourensis (Blanco, Hrbek & Doadrio, 2006)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aphanius saourensis Blanco, Hrbek & Doadrio, 2006 | |
Etymology
editThe species name, saourensis, comes from "Saoura", the valley where the fish was collected.[1]
Description
editLike all members of the genus Apricaphanius, the Sahara aphanius exhibits sexual dimorphism. Females possess brown mottling on their flanks and have transparent fins, whereas the much smaller males have bluish silver body mottling. Their fins have dark bars on them and are often blue in colour.[4] Males grow to 32 mm (1.3 in) and females to 34 mm (1.3 in) in standard length.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Freyhof, J. & Ford, M. (2022). "Apricaphanius saourensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T182964A137217343. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T182964A137217343.en. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Apricaphanius saourensis". FishBase. February 2024 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Apricaphanius saourensis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Aphanius saourensis". Seriouslyfish.com. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ "Sahara Aphanius – Tiergarten Schönbrunn". Zoovienna.at (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Fische Süßwasser" (PDF). Koelnerzoo.de (in German). pp. 20–21. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Mahmoud Bacha; Jörg Freyhof. "Aphanius saourensis extinct in the wild". Joerg-freyhof.de. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023.
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