Iriatherina werneri Meinken, 1974
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 threadfin rainbowfish or featherfin rainbowfish (Iriatherina werneri) is a rainbowfish, the only species in the genus Iriatherina. It is characterized by long beautiful fins, and is among the most attractive of the rainbowfishes. It is native to freshwater swamps and demersal or thickly vegetated areas of flowing waters, in tropical northern Australia and New Guinea. It grows up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in length, but this does not include the Threadfin's long tail. Sexing is easy by examining fins: males have larger, gaudier finnage than females. Males also have more intense colours. When reproduction takes place eggs are scattered among the leaves of submerged vegetation, and hatch after 7–10 days. The threadfin rainbowfish was described by Herman Meinkin in 1974 from types collected in Merauke, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Meinken honoured the German aquarium fish trader Arthur Werner, who collected the type, in the specific name.
Wikipedia contributors, Threadfin rainbowfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:54:53.703678+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Iriatherina werneri Meinken, 1974
- Name authority
- Meinken, 1974
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Atheriniformes
- Family
- Melanotaeniidae
- Genus
- Iriatherina
- 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
- orderAtheriniformes
- suborderAtherinoidei
- familyMelanotaeniidae Gill, 1894
- genusIriatherina Meinken, 1974
- speciesIriatherina werneri Meinken, 1974
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Meinken, H. (1974). Mitteilung der Fischbestimmungsstelle des VDA, Nr. 77. Aus Neu-Guinea kommt eine neue Gattung und Art der Ährenfische (Pisces, Atherinidae). Aquarium Aqua Terra, 8 (55): 9–11. 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:3PZ3R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.