Orestias cuvieri Valenciennes, 1846
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 Titicaca orestias, Lake Titicaca orestias, or Lake Titicaca flat-headed fish (Orestias cuvieri), also known by its native name amanto, is a likely extinct freshwater killifish from Lake Titicaca in South America. It belongs in the pupfish genus Orestias, endemic to lakes, rivers and streams in the Andean highlands. With a total length of up to 27 cm (10.6 in), it was the largest member in that genus. In the hope that an undiscovered population remains, it is listed as Critically Endangered, possibly extinct by the IUCN. Despite its common name, it is not the only Orestias from Lake Titicaca. Its mouth was nearly turned upwards, thereby giving the flat head a concave shape. The head took up nearly a third of the whole body length. The upperside was greenish-yellow to umber. The lower jaw was black. Its scales were oddly light coloured at their centre. The scales of the young were blotched.
Wikipedia contributors, Titicaca orestias; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:26:43.164538+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Orestias cuvieri Valenciennes, 1846
- Name authority
- Valenciennes, 1846
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cyprinodontiformes
- Family
- Cyprinodontidae
- Genus
- Orestias
- 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
- familyCyprinodontidae Wagner, 1828
- subfamilyCyprinodontinae Wagner, 1828
- genusOrestias Valenciennes, 1839
- speciesOrestias cuvieri Valenciennes, 1846
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Orestias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Orestias crawfordi Tchernavin, 1944 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias pentlandii Valenciennes, 1846 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias elegans Garman, 1895 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias taquiri Tchernavin, 1944 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias multiporis Parenti, 1984 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias laucaensis Arratia, 1982 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias gymnota Parenti, 1984 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias empyraeus Allen, 1942 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias tchernavini Lauzanne, 1981 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias piacotensis Vila, 2006 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias mundus Parenti, 1984 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Orestias richersoni Parenti, 1984 | CyprinodontidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Orestias humboldti Valenciennes, 1846 Valenciennes, 1846 | 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.
- Cuvier, G., & Valenciennes, A. (1846). Histoire naturelle des poissons. Tome dix-huitième. Suite du livre dix-huitième. Cyprinoïdes. Livre dix-neuvième. Des Ésoces ou Lucioïdes. v. 18: i–xix + 2 pp. + 1–505 + 2 pp., Pls. 520–553. 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:74TNW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.