This species is not a common aquarium species but is occasionally available from specialist retailers or breeders. It was initially named Adinia multifasciata by Girard (1859) before later being redescribed as Fundulus xenicus (mispelled 'Fundnlus') by Jordan and Gilbert (1882).

Body stout and trapezoidal in adults, body depth usually 2 to 3 times in standard length; scales large, fewer than 30 scales along midlateral scale row…

Endemic to a handful of natural springs in the Río Verde valley, San Luis Potosí state, Central Mexico. The valley is believed to have once been filled by a large lake and the relict springs are part of the elevated Río (river) Verde basin which later drains into the much larger Río Pánuco system. Much of the aquatic fauna found in the valley is endemic to the area but in many cases threatened by introduced species.

The Iranian Plateau is home to a diverse group of Aphanius with four species already described and several awaiting description. These are among the most ancient in the genus having divereged away from a common ancestor around 20 – 24 million years ago. Among them this species is most closely related to A. sophiae from the Kor River system but can be distinguished by differences in patterning. Males of A. sophiae lack the characteristic darkcolouration seen in A. vladykovi and females possess a …

All Algerian Aphanius populations were considered to be representative of A. iberus until this species was described in 2006. It differs both morphologically and genetically from A. iberusand A. baeticus, probably diverging about 5.3 million years ago during the opening of the Straits of Gibraltar. It is most easily distinguished by the distinct mottled body patterning which in males of the other two species forms distinct vertical bars and in females dark spot-like markings. A. iberusis now k…

Prior to its description this species had been considered a form of A. anatoliae and also referred to as A. sp. aff. danfordii but collections in the early part of this century motivated new studies and resulted in its elevation to full species level. Phylogenetic analyses have shown it to represent the sister group to all other Anatolian Aphanius spp.

The Anatolia region represents a centre of diversity for the genus with ten endemic species described to date. These are thought to have diverged …

This species is still sometimes listed as a species of Lebias by some sources although that name has long been considered a synonym of Cyprinodon by most authorities and an ICZN committee voted to suppress the name in favour of Aphanius as recently as 2003.

It was known as A. persicus until late 2011 when it was reclassified due to that name being preoccupied by a Late Miocene fossil species previously referred to as Brachylebias persicus Priem 1908. This change was necessary because Gau…

This species has something of a confused history having been previously been considered synonymous with both A. sophiae (a separate species native to Iraq and Iran) and A. cypris (currently considered a junior synonym of A. mento). Although some populations occur close to and even sympatric with other members of the genus in Turkey phylogenetic studies have shown it to be more closely-related to the Middle Eastern species A. dispar dispar, A. d. richardsoni, A. ginaonis and A. sirhani. It's…

Phylogenetic studies have shown this species to be most closely related to A. dispar, A. richardsoni and A. ginaonis within the genus. It probably became isolated when the Red Sea flooded the Wadi Sirhan around 13 million years ago. You 're unlikely to find it on sale in aquatic stores although it may be available via specialist breeders or associations from time-to-time. While Aphanius spp. are certainly not as colourful as some of their relatives their interesting behaviour and continuous acti…

A. dispar should only be considered a nominal species as demonstrated by Hrbek and Meyer (2003) who conducted an in-depth phylogenetic study covering the majority of the genus. It was found to represent a paraphyletic grouping meaning it cannot be considered to be a species following the phylogenetic species concept. A. mento, A. sirhani and especially A. ginaonis and A. richardsoni were found to be its closest surviving relatives. Hoedeman (1951) suggested that it should be moved into a separat…

Populations of Aphanius from Spain's southern, Atlantic coastline and Algeria previously considered representative of A. iberus have now been elevated to full species status with the names A. baeticus (Doadrio, Carmona & Fernández-Delgado, 2002) and A. saourensis (Blanco, Hrbek & Doadrio, 2006), respectively. All three species look broadly similar although A. saourensis can be easily identified as the patterning in males is mottled and does not form vertical bars, while femal…