Esmaeilius sophiae, the Soffia toothcarp, is a species of
killifish belonging to the family
Aphaniidae. It is native to
Iran and
Iraq which includes the
Kor River basin of the
Fars Province in Iran,
Namak lake and
Tigris River basin. They are one of the subclades of the Inland and Inland-related Aphanius Species (IIRAS) and they are part of the richest of the 3 subclades.[2] They can be found in freshwater but also occur in
saline water.[3]
Distribution and habitat
The Soffia killifish is mainly
herbivorous, nonmigratory, and lives near the bottom of mostly fresh bodies of water, such as rivers and springs.[4][5][6] It can be found in Iran, has also been reported in the
Tigris River basin of
Iraq.[7] A possible specimen was also collected in from
Syria in 1977, though it is mainly only considered to native of Iran and Iraq. This species is also influenced by its environment in that stressors such as variations in temperature, salinity, and flooding fluctuate, which has an effect on the age, growth, and reproductive characteristics of individuals in this species.[6][8][9]
^Gholami, Zeinab; Esmaeili, Hamid Reza; Reichenbacher, Bettina (1 March 2015). "New data on the zoogeography of Aphanius sophiae (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae) in the Central Zagros (Southwest Iran)". Limnologica. 51: 70–82.
doi:
10.1016/j.limno.2014.12.002.
ISSN0075-9511.
^ Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl, 1997. Aquarien Atlas, Band 5. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany. 1148 p.
^ Al-Daham, N.K., M.F. Huq and K.P. Sharma, 1977. Notes on the ecology of fishes of the genus Aphanius and Gambusia affinis in Southern Iraq. Freshwat. Biol. 7(3):245-251.