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Turquoise Killifish — printable fact sheet
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Turquoise Killifish
Nothobranchius furzeri
The turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be bred in captivity, and it holds that record because of where it lives: ephemeral rain pools on the savannas of Mozambique and Zimbabwe that fill in the wet season and bake dry a few mon…
Did you know?
- Despite their brief lifespan, Turquoise Killifish reach sexual maturity in just two to three weeks after hatching.
- It can reach sexual maturity in about two weeks, faster than any other vertebrate. Its eggs survive in dry mud for years, so a pool can be repopulated from eggs laid several seasons earlier. It ages through the whole vertebrate repertoire, from cognitive decline to tumours, in a few months, which is why it has become a major laboratory model for the biology of ageing. In the wild it may live only three or four months, and the population is essentially wiped out and reborn every year.
What I learned
Draw the turquoise killifish
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