Aphanius saourensis

Aphanius saourensis, the Sahara aphanius, is a species of freshwater pupfish belonging to the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to the Oued Saoura river basin in Algeria.[1] The species is threatened by water pollution and water withdrawal for agricultural use; it was evaluated by the IUCN on 17 October 2007 and listed as critically endangered on the Red List, although it is possibly extinct.[2][3]

Aphanius saourensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Cyprinodontidae
Genus: Aphanius
Species:
A. saourensis
Binomial name
Aphanius saourensis
Blanco, Hrbek & Doadrio, 2006

Etymology

The species name, saourensis, comes from "Saoura", the valley where the fish was collected.[2]

Description

Like all members of the genus Aphanius, the Sahara aphanius exhibits sexual dimorphism. Females possess brown mottling on their flanks and have transparent fins, whereas the much smaller males have bluish silver body mottling. Their fins have dark bars on them and are often blue in colour.[3]

References
  1. Abdelhamid, Azeroual (2010-01-01). "Aphanius saourensis". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  2. "Aphanius saourensis, Sahara aphanius". www.fishbase.se. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  3. "Aphanius saourensis — Seriously Fish". Retrieved 2021-06-15.


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