Aphanius almiriensis, Kottelat, Barbieri & Stoumboudi, 2007

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 733

Aphanius almiriensis

Common name. Almiri killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from Aphanius fasciatus by: ● female with dark, roundish blotches on flank, more or less connected by an irregular dark-grey midlateral stripe / ● dorsal and anal not reaching caudal base in male. Size up to about 38 mm SL.

Distribution . Aegean basin in Türkiye and Greece: Tuzla estuary, Lake Bafa and coastal lagoons around İzmir (Homa lagoon), springs near Almiri and Meligou ( Peloponnese) and coastal lagoons on islands of Lesbos and Kos and near cities of Thessaloniki and Kavala. Likely more widespread. Also at Palude del Capitano in Puglia, Italy.

Habitat. Slow-flowing streams, lagoons and lakes. In fresh and brackish water, up to 23 ‰ salinity.

Biology. Live up to 3 years, mature in a few months, usually late in year of birth. Males establish territories along banks, usually in dense vegetation but also between rocks, which they defend against rival males. Females spawn with one or more males, usually in algae or other vegetation near surface or in gravel beds. Few eggs are deposited in substrate during a spawning event. Individual females may produce several clutches in one day. Feeds mainly on algae and detritus and, to a lesser extent, on planktonic invertebrates and anflug.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. This species was considered restricted to two localities in Greece but appears widespread throughout the Aegean basin. The distribution of A. almiriensis and A. fasciatus in the eastern Mediterranean is poorly understood, and a population from the island of Evia ( Greece) and possibly several others in Aegean belong to A. fasciatus . Both species may hybridise, but this has not been investigated. It cannot be completely excluded that the Italian population was accidentally introduced during Roman times, possibly from the island of Kos ( Greece).

Further reading. Kottelat et al. 2007 (description); Triantafyllidis et al. 2007 (distribution); Valdesalici et al. 2019 (distribution, first record in Italy); Saç et al. 2025 (biology).

Figures

Aphanius almiriensis

Distribution