Melanotaenia fluviatilis (Castelnau, 1878)
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 Murray River rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis), known less commonly as the Australian rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater fish endemic to southeastern Australia. The southernmost species of all rainbowfishes, these fish are very colourful, hence the name; and there is sexual dimorphism with the males being larger and more colourful than females. Murray River rainbowfish are schooling fish and will congregate near logs or riverbanks, and are a popular aquarium fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Murray River rainbowfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:10:38.288864+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanotaenia fluviatilis (Castelnau, 1878)
- Name authority
- (Castelnau, 1878)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Atheriniformes
- Family
- Melanotaeniidae
- Genus
- Melanotaenia
- 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
- genusMelanotaenia Gill, 1862
- speciesMelanotaenia fluviatilis (Castelnau, 1878)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Melanotaenia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Melanotaenia affinis (Weber, 1907) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia ammeri Allen, Unmack & Hadiaty, 2008 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia arguni Kadarusman, Hadiaty & Pouyaud, 2012 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia australis (Castelnau, 1875) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia boesemani Allen & Cross, 1980 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia catherinae (de Beaufort, 1910) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia corona Allen, 1982 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia duboulayi (Castelnau, 1878) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lake Eacham rainbowfishMelanotaenia eachamensis Allen & Cross, 1982 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia exquisita Allen, 1978 | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia fredericki (Fowler, 1939) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia goldiei (Macleay, 1883) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Melanotaenia splendida fluviatilis (Castelnau, 1878) (Castelnau, 1878) | synonym |
| Aristeus fluviatilis Castelnau, 1878 Castelnau, 1878 | 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=1423106 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:3ZBLP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.