Nothobranchius furzeri Jubb, 1971
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
Nothobranchius furzeri, the turquoise killifish, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae native to Africa where it is only known from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This annual killifish inhabits ephemeral pools in semi-arid areas with scarce and erratic precipitations and have adapted to the routine drying of their environment by evolving desiccation-resistant eggs that can remain dormant in the dry mud for one and maybe more years by entering into diapause. Among vertebrates, the species has the fastest known sexual maturity – only 14 days after hatching. Due to very short duration of the rain season, the natural lifespan of these animals is limited to a few months and their captive lifespan is likewise short. More specifically, they are able to live 1–5 months in the wild (with most only living up to 2 months) and 3 to 16 months in captivity depending on the strain and environment. Turquoise killifish are the shortest-lived vertebrate kept in captivity making them an attractive model system for ageing and disease research.
Wikipedia contributors, Nothobranchius furzeri; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:21:27.821760+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nothobranchius furzeri Jubb, 1971
- Name authority
- Jubb, 1971
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Nothobranchiidae
- Genus
- Nothobranchius
- 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
- orderCyprinodontiformes
- familyNothobranchiidae Garman, 1895
- genusNothobranchius Peters, 1868
- speciesNothobranchius furzeri Jubb, 1971
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nothobranchius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nothobranchius albimarginatus Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper, 1998 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius annectens Watters, Wildekamp & Cooper, 1998 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius bellemansi Valdesalici, 2014 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius boklundi Valdesalici, 2010 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius capriviensis Watters, Wildekamp & Shidlovskiy, 2015 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius chochamandai Nagy, 2014 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius foerschi Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius guentheri (Pfeffer, 1893) | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius hengstleri Valdesalici, 2007 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius interruptus Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius kardashevi Valdesalici, 2012 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothobranchius kirki Jubb, 1969 | NothobranchiidaeChordata | 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.
- Jubb, R. A. (1971). A new Nothobranchius (Pisces, Cyprinodontidae) from Southeastern Rhodesia. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 8 (1): 12–19. [Probably sent late December.]. 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:47SLP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.