The Rivulidae are a family of killifishes in the order Cyprinodontiformes. They are commonly known as rivulids, South American killifish or New World killifish. The latter names are slightly misleading, however, as they are neither restricted to South America, though most are in fact found there, nor are they the only killifishes from the Americas. Occasionally, they are still referred to as rivulines, a term dating back to when they were considered a subfamily of the Aplocheilidae.
The subfamilial name "Rivulinae" was already established for noctuid moths by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1895. That name, though it is the senior homonym, may be suppressed because the name Rivulinae for the fish subfamily is widespread, whereas the moth taxon is little used. The use of Rivulidae as the name for this family may need to be ruled in by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. The alternative family-group name Cynolebiidae Hoedeman 1961 has been proposed as an alternative to Rivulidae.
Costa unified the three families within the suborder Aplocheiloidei into a single family Aplocheilidae, with the subfamilies Aplocheilinae, Nothobranchiinae and the Cynolebiinae. However, the 5th edition of Fishes of the World retains the three families Aplocheilidae, Nothobranchiidae and Rivulidae.
Genera The following genera are classified in the family Rivulidae: The taxonomy of this family is subject to some discussion among workers and some of the listed genera are considered to be paraphyletic, for example it has been posited that Leptolebias is paraphyletic if the species placed in Leptopanchax are retained within it, as per Fishbase.
Anablepsoides Huber, 1992 Aphyolebias Costa, 1998 Atlantirivulus Costa, 2008 Austrofundulus Myers, 1932 Austrolebias Costa, 1998 Campellolebias Vaz-Ferreira & Sierra de Soriano, 1974 Cynodonichthys Meek, 1904 Cynolebias Steindachner, 1876 Cynopoecilus Regan, 1912 Gnatholebias Costa, 1998 Hypsolebias Costa, 2006 Kryptolebias Costa, 2004 Laimosemion Huber, 1999 Leptolebias Myers, 1952 Llanolebias Hrbek & Taphorn, 2008 Maratecoara Costa, 1995 Melanorivulus Costa, 2006 Micromoema Costa, 1998 Millerichthys Costa, 1995 Moema Costa, 1989 Mucurilebias Costa, 2014 Nematolebias Costa, 1998 Neofundulus Myers, 1924 Notholebias Costa, 2008 Ophthalmolebias Costa, 2006 Papiliolebias Costa, 1998 Pituna Costa, 1989 Plesiolebias Costa, 1989 Prorivulus Costa, Lima & Suzart, 2004 Pterolebias Garman, 1895 Rachovia Myers, 1927 Renova Thomerson & Taphorn, 1995 Rivulus Poey, 1860 Simpsonichthys Carvalho, 1959 Spectrolebias Costa & Nielsen, 1997 Stenolebias Costa, 1995 Terranatos Taphorn & Thomerson, 1978 Trigonectes Myers, 1925 Xenurolebias Costa, 2006
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