Aplocheilus dayi Steindachner, 1892

Open encyclopedia reference

The Ceylon killifish (Sinhala: උඩ හඳයා, romanized: uda handaya; Aplocheilus dayi) is a species of killifish endemic to Sri Lanka. It grows to a length of 9 cm (3.5 in). Males and females have a black dot at the rear end of the base of the dorsal fin. Females lay 50–150 eggs. The specific name of this fish honours the Inspector-General of Fisheries in India Francis Day (1829–1889), who first reported this fish, although he identified it as Aplocheilus panchax.

Wikipedia contributors, Ceylon killifish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:02:53.761115+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Aplocheilus dayi Steindachner, 1892

Name authority

Steindachner, 1892

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Cyprinodontiformes

Family

Aplocheilidae

Genus

Aplocheilus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCyprinodontiformes
11. familyAplocheilidae Bleeker, 1859
12. genusAplocheilus McClelland, 1839
13. speciesAplocheilus dayi Steindachner, 1892

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Aplocheilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 10 records assigned to Aplocheilidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. Steindachner, F. (1892). Über einige neue und seltene Fischarten aus der ichthyologischen Sammlung des K. K. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums. Denkschriften Der Kaiserlichen Akademie Der Wissenschaften in Wien, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, v. 59 (1. Abth.): 357–384, Pls. 1–6. [Also as a separate, pp. 1–27, Pls. 1–6]. 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:67NQJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.