Nothobranchius is a genus of small, freshwater killifish, classified in either the family Nothobranchiidae or a more inclusive Aplocheilidae in the order Cyprinodontiformes. There are many species: as of 2018 there are more than 70 species, many with very small distributions. They are primarily native to East Africa from Sudan to northern South Africa, but half a dozen species are found in the upper Congo River Basin and two species are from west-central Africa; the greatest species richness is in Tanzania.
Nothobranchius albimarginatus is a species of fish in the family Aplocheilidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are intermittent rivers and shrub-dominated wetlands. It has only been recorded from two pools on the road between Dar es Salaam and Ikwiriri, half a kilometre south of the Lukwale River, these pools being the type locality.
Nothobranchius annectens is a species of fish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats is weedy pools.
The Boji Plains nothobranch is a species of fish in the family Nothobranchiidae, endemic to the drainage of the Ewaso Nyiro in Kenya. Its natural habitat is intermittent freshwater marshes.
The orchid nothobranch is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to the lower basin of the Rufiji River in Tanzania. Its natural habitat is temporary pools and swamps. This species is found in both a blue and red form. This species was described in 1982 by Lothar Seegers with the type biology given as the Rufiji River near Utete, eastern Tanzania. The specific name honours Seegers companion on two expeditions, the German aquarist Gerd Eggers.
Nothobranchius foerschi is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat is probably temporary pools. The specific name honours the German physician and aquaris Walter Foersch (1932-1993), who was an expert in killifish and was one of the first people to keep and breed this species.
Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania.
Nothobranchius geminus is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat is intermittent freshwater pools where it feeds on invertebrates at the surface.
Nothobranchius kilomberoensis is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania where it is found in the floodplain of the Kilombero River where it is found in turbid, seasonal pools.
Nothobranchius kirki, the redfin notho, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae which is endemic to Malawi where it occurs in the drainages of Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa. It inhabits swamps and ephemeral pools. This species can reach a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species was described in 1969 by the South African ichthyologist Rex Jubb from types collected by R. G. Kirk, who was a fish biologist of the Agricultural Research Services part of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Malawi, from a pool adjacent to the Likangala River which forms part of the endorheic basin of Lake Chilwa in Malawi.
Nothobranchius korthausae is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Mafia Island in Tanzania. Its natural habitat is pools, ditches and small streams. The specific name of this species honours the German aquarist Edith Korthaus who collected the type.
Nothobranchius lourensi is a species of fish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is known only from the floodplain of the Ruvu River in eastern Tanzania where it is found in temporary pools, where the type was originally collected by Jan Lourens, a biologist with the United Nations Development Programme in Dar es Salaam and who is honoured in its specific name.
Nothobranchius luekei is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitat is temporary pools. Its specific name honours the German aquarist Karl Heinz Lüke who was the first person to breed this species in an aquarium.
The blackspotted nothobranch is a species of fish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are temporary pools and floodplains, rice fields, swamps, ditches, and small streams. It grows to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) total length.
Nothobranchius ocellatus is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Tanzania. This species was described as Paranothobranchius ocellatus in 1985 by Lothar Seegers with the type locality given as being a swamp between Mtanza and the northern entrance of the Selous Game Reserve in the drainage basin of the Rufiji River north of Rufiji in eastern Tanzania.
Nothobranchius robustus, the red Victoria nothobranch, is a species of killifish in the family) Nothobranchiidae. It is found in the Lake Victoria basin, the Lake Albert basin, the Sio River and near Ahero in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, and intermittent freshwater marshes. This species was described in 1935 by Ernst Ahl from types collected in northwestern Tanzania.
Nothobranchius kafuensis, known as the Caprivi killifish or Kafue killifish, is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. This killifish is found in temporary pools, swamps and ditches in the floodplains of the Kafue and Upper Zambezi rivers in western Zambia and the Caprivi Strip in Namibia.
The Mnanzini nothobranch is a species of killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae. It is endemic to Kenya where it occurs on the floodplains of the lower Tana River system where it is found in temporary waterbodies and connecting streams. The specific name honours the German aquarist Manfred Willert who helped to collect the type and who donated it to Rudolf Hans Wildekamp who describe the species in 1992.
Nothobranchius furzeri, the turquoise killifish, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae native to Africa where it is only known from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This annual killifish inhabits ephemeral pools in semi-arid areas with scarce and erratic precipitations and have adapted to the routine drying of their environment by evolving desiccation-resistant eggs that can remain dormant in the dry mud for one and maybe more years by entering into diapause. Among vertebrates, the species has the fastest known sexual maturity – only 14 days after hatching. Due to very short duration of the rain season, the natural lifespan of these animals is limited to a few months and their captive lifespan is likewise short. More specifically, they are able to live 1–5 months in the wild and 3 to 16 months in captivity depending on the strain and environment. Turquoise killifish are the shortest-lived vertebrate kept in captivity making them an attractive model system for ageing and disease research. Tandem repeats comprise 21% of the species' genome, an abnormally high proportion, which has been suggested as a factor in its fast ageing. Their captive diet consists mostly bloodworms and there are current efforts to replace bloodworms by pelleted diets.
Nothobranchius rachovii, or the bluefin notho, is a species of freshwater annual killifish from Mozambique. It can grow up to 6 cm (2.4"). It is popular among killifish enthusiasts, who raise them from eggs in aquaria.
