Galaxias paucispondylus Stokell, 1938
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The alpine river galaxias (Galaxias paucispondylus) is a galaxiid of the genus Galaxias, found only in mid to high elevation streams flowing from the Southern Alps of New Zealand. It grows to a length of up to 11 cm.
Alpine galaxias are speckled olive-green over a light brown base. The single large dorsal fin is rounded, and set back two thirds of the body length, the anal fin a little further back. The caudal fin is large and slightly forked. Like all galaxiids it lacks scales and has a thick, leathery skin covered with mucus.
They are non-diadromous and therefore do not have a marine phase and are not part of the whitebait catch.
Wikipedia contributors, Alpine galaxias; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:33:53.436727+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galaxias paucispondylus Stokell, 1938
- Name authority
- Stokell, 1938
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Galaxiiformes
- Family
- Galaxiidae
- Genus
- Galaxias
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderGalaxiiformes
- familyGalaxiidae Müller, 1845
- subfamilyGalaxiinae Müller, 1845
- genusGalaxias Cuvier, 1816
- speciesGalaxias paucispondylus Stokell, 1938
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Galaxias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxias cobitinis McDowall & Waters, 2002 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias fasciatus Gray, 1842 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias fontanus Fulton, 1978 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias globiceps Eigenmann, 1928 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias johnstoni Scott, 1936 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias macronasus McDowall & Waters, 2003 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias neocaledonicus Weber & de Beaufort, 1913 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias occidentalis Ogilby, 1899 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias parvus Frankenberg, 1968 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias postvectis Clarke, 1899 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias truttaceus Valenciennes, 1846 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Galaxias vulgaris Stokell, 1949 | GalaxiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Stokell, G. (1938). A new species of the genus Galaxias with a note on the second occurrence of Galaxias Burrowsii Phillipps. Records of the Canterbury Museum, v. 4 (no. 4): 203–208, Pl. 25. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3F2WS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.