Turquoise killifish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Turquoise killifish |
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| Male Nothobranchius furzeri GRZ (from Gonarezhou National Park) |
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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. 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.
Among vertebrates, the species has the fastest known sexual maturity – only 14 days after hatching. Due to very short duration of the rain season, the natural lifespan of these animals is limited to a few months 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 to 16 months in captivity depending on the strain and environment. Turquoise killifish are the shortest-lived vertebrate kept in captivity making them an attractive model system for ageing and disease research. Tandem repeats comprise 21% of the species' genome, an abnormally high proportion, which has been suggested as a factor in its fast ageing. Their captive diet consists mostly bloodworms and there are current efforts to replace bloodworms by pelleted diets.
This species can reach a total length of 6.5 cm (2.6 in).
The species name is derived from that of the discoverer Richard E. Furzer of Rhodesia.
