Pronothobranchius is a genus of annual killifish in the family Nothobranchiidae, found in seasonal savanna pools across a broad band of West and Central Africa, with atlas records from the Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Senegal. The atlas covers 3 species, small fish in the 2 in range. As true annual killifish, Pronothobranchius species live in temporary bodies of water that dry out completely each year; adults die off as their pools evaporate, and the population survives the dry season entirely as drought-resistant eggs buried in the mud, hatching only when the rains return and refill the pool.
This boom-and-bust annual life cycle is the defining fact about the genus, and it is the reason annual killifish in general have such a devoted following among specialist aquarists, who collect and trade dried, egg-laden peat as a way of shipping fish across the world without shipping water. Pronothobranchius chirioi, Pronothobranchius gambiensis and Pronothobranchius kiyawensis are all little known outside that specialist hobby, with sparse published husbandry detail. The IUCN picture already shows pressure on the group: one species is Endangered and two are not yet formally evaluated, consistent with the vulnerability of seasonal savanna wetlands to drainage and land-use change. None currently carry a CARES designation in the atlas.