The Almiri toothcarp or Almiri killifish (''Aphanius almiriensis'') is a species of
pupfish
Pupfish are a group of small killifish belonging to ten genera of the family Cyprinodontidae of ray-finned fish. Pupfish are especially noted for being found in extreme and isolated situations. They are primarily found in North America, South Am ...
belonging to the family
Cyprinodontidae. It can be found in a handful of
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...
springs and marshes in the
Peloponnese,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. 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 (i, ii, iii, i, v) and B2ab (i, ii, iii, iv, v); it is possibly extinct at its
type locality.
Etymology
The species name, ''almiriensis'', refers to
Almiri, where the fish was originally discovered.
Description
Like all members of the genus ''Aphanius'', the fish display
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
. Female Almiri toothcarp reach a length of approximately 35.1 mm, whereas the males have been recorded to reach up to 28.5 mm.
On their bodies, males have 6–8 dark stripes, which are wider above than below. Their caudal and anal fins are both yellow; the caudal fin also has a grey distal band. The dorsal fin is yellow and has a prominent black margin, with a few dark dots near the base. The anus and genital openings are separated.
Females bear 7–11 roundish blotches on their sides, connected by a dark midlateral stripe.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q144211
Aphanius
Fish described in 2007