Austrofundulus Explained

Austrofundulus is a genus of killifish in the family Rivulidae native to northern Colombia, northern Venezuela and southwestern Guyana.^[1] They are annual killifish where adults generally have a short life in temporary ponds or swamps and the eggs experience a period of drought, only hatching when again covered by water.^[2]

They are small thickset fish, no more than in total length, and most less than half that size.^[1]

Species

Austrofundulus is closely related to Rachovia,^[1] and it has been suggested that the former should be merged into the latter.^[3]

There are currently 7 recognized species of Austrofundulus:

• Austrofundulus guajira Hrbek, Taphorn & Thomerson, 2005
• Austrofundulus leohoignei Hrbek, Taphorn & Thomerson, 2005
• Austrofundulus leoni Hrbek, Taphorn & Thomerson, 2005
• Austrofundulus limnaeus L. P. Schultz, 1949
• Austrofundulus myersi Dahl, 1958
• Austrofundulus rupununi Hrbek, Taphorn & Thomerson, 2005
• Austrofundulus transilis G. S. Myers, 1932

Notes and References

1. Hrbek, Y. . D.C. Taphorn . J.E. Thomerson . 2005 . Molecular phylogeny of Austrofundulus Myers (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), with revision of the genus and the description of four new species . Zootaxa . 825 . 1–39 . 10.11646/zootaxa.825.1.1 .
2. Woll, S.C. . J. Roush . W.C. Warren . A. Brunet . J.E. Podrabsky . 2018 . The genome of Austrofundulus limnaeus offers insights into extreme vertebrate stress tolerance and embryonic development . BMC Genomics . 19 . 155 . 155 . 10.1186/s12864-018-4539-7 . 29463212 . 5819677 . free .
3. Costa, W.J.E.M. . 2014 . Phylogeny and evolutionary radiation in seasonal rachovine killifishes: biogeographical and taxonomical implications . Vertebrate Zoology . 64 . 2 . 177–192 . 10.3897/vz.64.e31478 . free .