Cyprinodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising mostly small, freshwater fish. Many popular aquarium fish, such as killifish and live-bearers, are included. They are closely related to the Atheriniformes and are occasionally included with them. A colloquial term for the order as a whole is toothcarps, though they are not actually close relatives of the true carps – the latter belong to the superorder Ostariophysi, while the toothcarps are Acanthopterygii.
Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the short-finned molly, Poecilia sphenops, which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water.
The Spanish toothcarp, also known as the Spanish toothcarp or Iberian killifish, is a small, endemic species of fish in the family Aphaniidae. Its risk of extinction is one of the greatest of any Iberian vertebrate. Its limited range, coupled with the drastic population decline the species has suffered in the last two decades, has caused it to be placed on endangered species lists, both in Spain and internationally. In addition, habitat fragmentation, likely due to humans, has resulted in this species becoming increasingly stagnant and has led to increased genetic drift. Also found to be contributing to their endangerment was genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondrial DNA coupled with A. iberus’s geographic distribution has been able to affect their population genetic structure gradually in different spaces. Its conservation status in the south of the Iberian Peninsula has notably worsened.
The Danube bleak or Caspian shemaya is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Iran, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, Moldova, Greece, Czechia, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Afghanistan, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
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.
The footless killifish is a monotypic species of killifish in the family Aphaniidae. This species is endemic to springs and streams in the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, between Batna and Constantine. T. apoda was described in 1853 by Paul Gervais with the type locality given as the Springs of Tell, south of Constantine.
Anatolichthys transgrediens, the Acı Göl toothcarp or Acipinar killifish, is a species of freshwater fish in the family Aphaniidae. It is endemic to the springs of Lake Acıgöl in Turkey. It is threatened by a reduction in rainfall from climate change, and the abstraction of water from the springs. The introduction of the non-native eastern mosquitofish also threatens this species.
The banded lampeye is a species of poeciliid that is native to Africa, ranging from Senegal to Angola. It is mainly found in coastal brackish habitats such as river mouths, lagoons and mangrove swamps. It reaches up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in total length.
The big-scale sand smelt is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae. It is a euryhaline amphidromous fish, up to 20 cm in length.
Esmaeilius vladykovi is a species of killifish in the family Aphaniidae endemic to a restricted area of the central Zagros Mountains of Iran. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. Its specific name honours the zoologist Vadim D. Vladykov (1898-1986) who studied the fishes of the Caspian basin and the person who accepted the species author, Brian W. Coad, as a graduate student.
The thinlip mullet is a species of fish in the family Mugilidae. It is found in shallow European waters and is a migratory species.
Anatolichthys danfordii, the Kızılırmak toothcarp or Sultan Sazlığı toothcarp, is a species of killifish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It is endemic to the Kızılırmak River and the upper Seyhan River drainage systems and is now restricted to a few locations in the Sultan Sazlığı marshes. Though little data is available, the population of the fish seems to be declining. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "critically endangered" and fears it may become extinct in the wild if the drainage of the marshes continues.
The Arabian toothcarp, known also as the Arabian toothcarp or mother-of-Pearl fish is a species of killifish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It can be found from the shores of the Red Sea south to Ethiopia, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and along the Persian Gulf east to Pakistan and India. It is also found in the Suez Canal, the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula, and in one location on the Palestinian coast. The former recognized subspecies: A. d. richardsoni, the Dead Sea toothcarp endemic to the Dead Sea has now been raised to a full species as Aphaniops richardsoni.
Fundulus luciae, the spotfin killifish, is a member of the genus Fundulus. This hardy fish is notable for spending its entire life in sporadically flooded salt marsh habitat, sheltering in shallow pools, puddles, and small tidal rivulets. It closely resembles the mummichog in shape and coloration, but the two species can be distinguished by dorsal fin ray count: 8–9 in the spotfin versus 11–12 in the mummichog. Additionally, the dorsal fin of F. luciae originates farther back, and slightly behind the anal fin origin; in the mummichog, the dorsal fin begins anteriorly to the anal fin origin. The spotfin killifish is named for the pronounced ocellus found on the posterior dorsal fin of adult males. It is a small fish, seldom attaining 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in total length. Its distribution extends along the U.S. east coast from Massachusetts to Georgia.
The woolly sculpin is a species of ray-finned marine fish belonging to the family Cottidae, or the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs along the coastline of California south to Baja California.
The Farsi toothcarp is a species of pupfish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It is endemic to the Maharloo Lake Basin in Iran, residing in springs, lagoons, and marshes containing fresh to brackish water.
The Almiri toothcarp or Almiri killifish is a species of pupfish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It can be found in a handful of brackish springs and marshes in the Peloponnese, Greece. Due to one of the springs being dammed up with rocks in the late 1990s to early 2000s, the IUCN considers the fish to be critically endangered on criteria B1ab and B2ab ; it is possibly extinct at its type locality.
Esmaeilius sophiae, the Soffia toothcarp, is a species of killifish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It is native to Iran and Iraq which includes the Kor River basin of the Fars Province in Iran, Namak lake and Tigris River basin. They are one of the subclades of the Inland and Inland-related Aphanius Species (IIRAS) and they are part of the richest of the 3 subclades. They can be found in freshwater but also occur in saline water.
Apricaphanius saourensis, the Sahara aphanius or Sahara killifish, is a species of freshwater pupfish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It is endemic to the Oued Saoura river basin in Algeria. 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.
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 throughout the neighboring states of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf to southwest India. Several species in this family have very small distributions and are seriously threatened.
