Esmaeilius sophiae, the Soffia toothcarp, is a species of killifish belonging to the family Aphaniidae. It is native to Iran and Iraq which includes the Kor River basin of the Fars Province in Iran, Namak lake and Tigris River basin. They are one of the subclades of the Inland and Inland-related Aphanius Species (IIRAS) and they are part of the richest of the 3 subclades.[2] They can be found in freshwater but also occur in saline water.[3]
^Gholami, Zeinab; Esmaeili, Hamid Reza; Reichenbacher, Bettina (1 March 2015). "New data on the zoogeography of Aphanius sophiae (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae) in the Central Zagros (Southwest Iran)". Limnologica. 51: 70–82. doi:10.1016/j.limno.2014.12.002. ISSN0075-9511.