Melanotaenia gracilis Allen, 1978
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 slender rainbowfish (Melanotaenia gracilis) is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae which is endemic to Australia. It occurs in the extreme north of Western Australia in the systems of the Drysdale and King Edward Rivers.
Wikipedia contributors, Slender 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 gracilis Allen, 1978
- Name authority
- Allen, 1978
- 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 gracilis Allen, 1978
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 fluviatilis (Castelnau, 1878) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Melanotaenia fredericki (Fowler, 1939) | MelanotaeniidaeChordata | 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.
- Allen, G. R. (1978). The rainbowfishes of northwestern Australia (family Melanotaeniidae). Tropical Fish Hobbyist, 26. 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:3ZBLT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.