Galaxias zebratus (Castelnau, 1861)
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 Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) is a species of freshwater fish of the family Galaxiidae.
It is a small fish, rarely larger than 6 cm, that inhabits clear streams, rivers and ponds of South Africa. It shares the same habitat as imported trout and bass species and has been identified as prey. The numbers of this relatively delicate fish have declined around Cape Town. Although in South Africa it was at one time classified as near threatened, in Australia species of the same genus were driven to extinction by competing salmonids and other introduced species of fish. It is now classified as "Data Deficient" on the grounds that the taxonomic status of the species complex is unclear.
Wikipedia contributors, Cape 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 zebratus (Castelnau, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Castelnau, 1861)
- 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 zebratus (Castelnau, 1861)
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 paucispondylus Stokell, 1938 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Galaxias dubius Gilchrist & Thompson, 1917 Gilchrist & Thompson, 1917 | synonym |
| Galaxias punctifer (Castelnau, 1861) (Castelnau, 1861) | synonym |
| Paragalaxias zebratus (Castelnau, 1861) (Castelnau, 1861) | synonym |
| Cobitis punctifer Castelnau, 1861 Castelnau, 1861 | synonym |
| Galaxias capensis Steindachner, 1894 Steindachner, 1894 | synonym |
| Agalaxis punctifer (Castelnau, 1861) (Castelnau, 1861) | synonym |
| Agalaxis zebratus (Castelnau, 1861) (Castelnau, 1861) | synonym |
| Galaxias africanus Weber, 1896 Weber, 1896 | synonym |
| Cobitis zebrata Castelnau, 1861 Castelnau, 1861 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1017092 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:3F2XV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.