Nothobranchius orthonotus (Peters, 1844)
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 spotted killifish (Nothobranchius orthonotus) is a small, short lived species of fish, an African rivuline from the family Nothobranchiidae. These fish are native to many isolated freshwater pools located in the savannah depressions of east Africa, specifically Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. This species of fish occurs in ephemeral waters and killifish eggs can survive long periods of dehydration. The word killifish likely comes from the Dutch kil for kill (small stream).
Wikipedia contributors, Spotted killifish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:21:35.411629+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nothobranchius orthonotus (Peters, 1844)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1844)
- 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 orthonotus (Peters, 1844)
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 furzeri Jubb, 1971 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Nothobranchius maculatus (Peters, 1855) (Peters, 1855) | synonym |
| Nothobranchius mayeri Ahl, 1935 Ahl, 1935 | synonym |
| Nothobranchius troemneri (Myers, 1926) (Myers, 1926) | synonym |
| Notobranchius mayeri Ahl, 1935 Ahl, 1935 | synonym |
| Adiniops troemneri Myers, 1926 Myers, 1926 | synonym |
| Adinias troemneri Myers, 1926 Myers, 1926 | synonym |
| Adiniops kuhntae (Ahl, 1926) (Ahl, 1926) | synonym |
| Hydrargyra maculata Peters, 1855 Peters, 1855 | synonym |
| Nothobranchius kuhntae (Ahl, 1926) (Ahl, 1926) | synonym |
| Notobranchius orthonotus (Peters, 1844) (Peters, 1844) | synonym |
| Cyprinodon orthonotus Peters, 1844 Peters, 1844 | synonym |
| Fundulus orthonotus (Peters, 1844) (Peters, 1844) | synonym |
| Fundulus kuhntae Ahl, 1926 Ahl, 1926 | 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=1015406 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:47SND. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.