Melanotaenia iris Allen, 1987
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 Strickland rainbowfish (Melanotaenia iris) is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it is only known to occur in the Logatyu River, a tributary of the Strickland River, in the Fly River system. It is currently known from only five specimens collected in 1984 by D. Gwyther and it was described by Gerald R. Allen in 1987.
Wikipedia contributors, Strickland rainbowfish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:10:38.290370+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Melanotaenia iris Allen, 1987
- Name authority
- Allen, 1987
- 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 iris Allen, 1987
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. (1987). Melanotaenia iris, a new freshwater rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from Papua New Guinea with notes on the fish fauna in head waters. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 34 (1): 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02904139 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:3ZBLW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.