Nothobranchius furzeri

{{Short description|Species of fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Turquoise killifish

| image = Nothobranchius_furzeri_GRZ_thumb.jpg

| image_caption = Male Nothobranchius furzeri GRZ
(from Gonarezhou National Park)

| status = LC

| status_system= IUCN3.1

| status_ref= {{cite iucn |author= Nagy, B. |author2=Watters, B. |date=2019 |title=Nothobranchius furzeri |volume=2019 |page=e.T63305A99447871 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T63305A99447871.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}

| taxon = Nothobranchius furzeri

| authority = R. A. Jubb, 1971

}}

Nothobranchius furzeri, the turquoise killifish, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae native to Africa where it is only known from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.{{FishBase |genus= Nothobranchius|species= furzeri| month = February | year = 2014}} This annual killifish inhabits ephemeral pools in semi-arid areas with scarce and erratic precipitations and have adapted to the routine drying of their environment by evolving desiccation-resistant eggs that can remain dormant in the dry mud for one and maybe more years by entering into diapause.{{Cite journal|last1=Reichard|first1=Martin|last2=Polačik|first2=Matej|date=2019-01-08|title=Nothobranchius furzeri, an 'instant' fish from an ephemeral habitat|journal=eLife|language=en|volume=8|pages=e41548|doi=10.7554/eLife.41548|issn=2050-084X|pmc=6324871|pmid=30616713 |doi-access=free }}

Among vertebrates, the species has the fastest known sexual maturity – only 14 days after hatching.{{Cite news|last=Milius|first=Susan|date=2018-08-06|title=This killifish can go from egg to sex in two weeks|language=en|work=Science News|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/killifish-can-go-egg-sex-two-weeks|access-date=2018-08-08}}{{Cite journal|last1=Vrtílek|first1=Milan|last2=Žák|first2=Jakub|last3=Pšenička|first3=Martin|last4=Reichard|first4=Martin|date=August 2018|title=Extremely rapid maturation of a wild African annual fish|journal=Current Biology|language=English|volume=28|issue=15|pages=R822–R824|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.031|issn=0960-9822|pmid=30086311|doi-access=free}} Due to very short duration of the rain season, the natural lifespan of these animals is limited to a few months{{Cite journal|last1=Vrtílek|first1=Milan|last2=Žák|first2=Jakub|last3=Polačik|first3=Matej|last4=Blažek|first4=Radim|last5=Reichard|first5=Martin|date=2018-03-19|title=Longitudinal demographic study of wild populations of African annual killifish|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=8|issue=1|pages=4774|doi=10.1038/s41598-018-22878-6|issn=2045-2322|pmc=5859278|pmid=29555942}}{{Cite journal|last1=Žák|first1=Jakub|last2=Vrtílek|first2=Milan|last3=Polačik|first3=Matej|last4=Blažek|first4=Radim|last5=Reichard|first5=Martin|date=2021|title=Short-lived fishes: Annual and multivoltine strategies|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/faf.12535|journal=Fish and Fisheries|language=en|volume=22|issue=3|pages=546–561|doi=10.1111/faf.12535|s2cid=234048965 |issn=1467-2979|url-access=subscription}} and their captive lifespan is likewise short. More specifically, they are able to live 1–5 months in the wild (with most only living up to 2 months) and 3{{Cite journal|last1=Valdesalici|first1=Stefano|last2=Cellerino|first2=Alessandro|date=2003-11-07|title=Extremely short lifespan in the annual fish Nothobranchius furzeri|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=270|issue=suppl_2|pages=S189-91 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2003.0048|issn=0962-8452|pmc=1809958|pmid=14667379}} to 16{{Cite journal|last1=Žák|first1=Jakub|last2=Reichard|first2=Martin|date=February 2021|editor-last=Gaillard|editor-first=Jean‐Michel|title=Reproductive senescence in a short‐lived fish|journal=Journal of Animal Ecology|language=en|volume=90|issue=2|pages=492–502|doi=10.1111/1365-2656.13382|pmid=33159690 |s2cid=226275515 |issn=0021-8790|doi-access=free}} months in captivity depending on the strain and environment. Turquoise killifish are the shortest-lived vertebrate kept in captivity{{Cite journal|last1=Cellerino|first1=Alessandro|last2=Valenzano|first2=Dario R.|last3=Reichard|first3=Martin|date=May 2016|title=From the bush to the bench: the annual Nothobranchius fishes as a new model system in biology|journal=Biological Reviews|language=en|volume=91|issue=2|pages=511–533|doi=10.1111/brv.12183|pmid=25923786 |issn=1464-7931|doi-access=free|hdl=11384/61025|hdl-access=free}} making them an attractive model system for ageing and disease research.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2015.01.038| pmid = 25684364| title = A Platform for Rapid Exploration of Aging and Diseases in a Naturally Short-Lived Vertebrate| journal = Cell| volume = 160| issue = 5| pages = 1013–26| year = 2015| last1 = Harel | first1 = I. | last2 = Benayoun | first2 = B. R. N. A. | last3 = Machado | first3 = B. | last4 = Singh | first4 = P. P. | last5 = Hu | first5 = C. K. | last6 = Pech | first6 = M. F. | last7 = Valenzano | first7 = D. R. | last8 = Zhang | first8 = E. | last9 = Sharp | first9 = S. C. | last10 = Artandi | first10 = S. E. | last11 = Brunet | first11 = A. | pmc=4344913}} Tandem repeats comprise 21% of the species' genome, an abnormally high proportion, which has been suggested as a factor in its fast ageing.{{Cite journal

| pmid = 22124482

| year = 2011

| last1 = Treangen

| first1 = T. J.

| title = Repetitive DNA and next-generation sequencing: Computational challenges and solutions

| journal = Nature Reviews Genetics

| volume = 13

| issue = 1

| pages = 36–46

| last2 = Salzberg

| first2 = S. L.

| doi = 10.1038/nrg3117

| pmc = 3324860

}}{{Cite journal|last1=Willemsen|first1=David|last2=Cui|first2=Rongfeng|last3=Reichard|first3=Martin|last4=Valenzano|first4=Dario Riccardo|date=2020-09-01|editor-last=Kapahi|editor-first=Pankaj|editor2-last=Tyler|editor2-first=Jessica K|editor3-last=Clark|editor3-first=Nathan|title=Intra-species differences in population size shape life history and genome evolution|journal=eLife|volume=9|pages=e55794|doi=10.7554/eLife.55794|issn=2050-084X|pmc=7462614|pmid=32869739 |doi-access=free }} Their captive diet consists mostly bloodworms and there are current efforts to replace bloodworms by pelleted diets.{{Cite journal|last1=Žák|first1=Jakub|last2=Dyková|first2=Iva|last3=Reichard|first3=Martin|date=December 2020|title=Good performance of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) on pelleted diet as a step towards husbandry standardization|url= |journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=8986|doi=10.1038/s41598-020-65930-0|issn=2045-2322|pmc=7265286|pmid=32488062}}

This species can reach a total length of {{cvt|6.5|cm}}.

The species name is derived from that of the discoverer Richard E. Furzer of Rhodesia.{{cite web | url = http://www.etyfish.org/cyprinodontiformes1/ | work = The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database | author1 = Christopher Scharpf | author2 = Kenneth J. Lazara | date = 31 May 2019 | title= Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families APLOCHEILIDAE and NOTHOBRANCHIIDAE | access-date = 4 September 2019 | publisher = Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara}}