Aphanius almiriensis Kottelat, Barbieri & Stoumboudi, 2007

Family:  Aphaniidae (Oriental killifishes)
Max. size:  2.85 cm SL (male/unsexed); 3.88 cm SL (female)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater; brackish
Distribution:  Europe: Greece and Turkey.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-11; Anal soft rays: 10-11. The species is distinguished from its congeners by the following: yellow caudal of the male, with a wide faint grey margin (vs. hyaline, greyish, greyish blue, or bright yellow with or without a black subdistal bar); color pattern of the female with 7-11 dark, roundish blotches on the side, more or less connected by an irregular dark midlateral stripe; additionally, (not unique to it), male with 6-10 dark, broad, regularly set bars on the body; neuromasts in interorbital area in deep open grooves; 25-28+2 scales in lateral series on body; and 15-16 pectoral rays (Ref. 58344).
Biology:  Benthopelagic adults inhabit fresh and brackish water springs with salinity of up to 23 ppt. They are observed in shallow areas with slow current, among vegetation, as well as in the water column. They are short-lived, form schools and fast swimmers. Mature females are fractional spawners that breed in late spring - early summer, spawning 1-3 eggs a time (apparently the reproductive period may be prolonged until late summer) (Ref. 58344).
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR); Date assessed: 01 January 2008 (B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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