Scriptaphyosemion is a genus of small killifish in the African killifish family Nothobranchiidae, closely allied to the better-known genus Aphyosemion, from which it was eventually split out. Its species inhabit shaded, permanently flowing forest streams of the Upper Guinea forest block in West Africa, with the atlas's 13 species drawn mainly from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, and the genus's broader range touching Senegal, Gambia, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Because their home streams rarely dry out, Scriptaphyosemion are non-annual killifish, unlike the seasonal-pool species that must survive a dry season as dormant eggs.
Killifish specialists prize Scriptaphyosemion for the vivid blue-green iridescence and elegant, often red-edged finnage of mature males, kept in soft, acidic, well-filtered aquaria that echo the shade and leaf litter of a forest stream; because eggs need no extended dry storage, breeding follows the more straightforward non-annual routine rather than the peat-incubation methods used for seasonal species. Named species in the atlas include Cauvet's killifish, Guignard's killifish, Liberian killifish, and Roloff's killifish. Conservation is mixed but concerning: 5 Vulnerable and 2 Critically Endangered species out of 13, driven by deforestation and mining pressure across the Upper Guinea forest.