Spanish toothcarp

Spanish toothcarp
Male toothcarp (top) and female toothcarp (bottom)
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cyprinodontiformes
Family:	Aphaniidae
Genus:	Apricaphanius
Species:	A. iberus
Binomial name
Apricaphanius iberus (Valenciennes, 1846)
Distribution of Aphanius Iberus in Spain
Synonyms[2]
Aphanius iberius (Valenciennes, 1846) Aphanius iberus (Valenciennes, 1846) Cyprinodon ibericus (Steindachner, 1865) Cyprinodon iberus Valenciennes, 1846 Lebias ibera (Valenciennes, 1846) Lebias ibericus Steindachner, 1865 Lebias iberus (Valenciennes, 1846)

The Spanish toothcarp (Apricaphanius iberus), also known as the Spanish pupfish or Iberian killifish,^[3][4] is a small, endemic species of fish in the family Aphaniidae. Its risk of extinction is one of the greatest of any Iberian vertebrate. Its limited range, coupled with the drastic population decline the species has suffered in the last two decades, has caused it to be placed on endangered species lists, both in Spain and internationally. In addition, habitat fragmentation, likely due to humans, has resulted in this species becoming increasingly stagnant and has led to increased genetic drift. Also found to be contributing to their endangerment was genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondrial DNA coupled with A. iberus's geographic distribution has been able to affect their population genetic structure gradually in different spaces. Its conservation status in the south of the Iberian Peninsula has notably worsened.

A similar fish in the peninsula's south-west has been classified as an independent species, Apricaphanius baeticus. Apricaphanius saourensis is another similar species in Algeria.