Schindleria brevipinguis
Encyclopedia
Schindleria brevipinguis is a species
of marine
fish
in family
Schindleriidae of Perciformes
. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia
's Great Barrier Reef
and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea
.
S. brevipinguis is the second smallest known fish
and vertebrate
. The species grows to a maximum total length of 8.4 millimetre (0.330708661417323 in), with males being mature at a length of 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in); the smallest vertebrate species currently is the recently (Jan 2006) identified Paedocypris progenetica
, while the parasitic males of the anglerfish
Photocorynus spiniceps
are but 6.2 millimetre (0.244094488188976 in) long. S. brevipinguis is distinguished from the similar S. praematura by having its first anal-fin ray further forward, under dorsal-fin
4, rather than 7–11 in S. praematura. The body weight is approximately 1 milligram.
The specific epithet, brevipinguis, derives from the Latin
brevis (short) and pinguis (stout), in reference to the fish's shorter, thicker body, as compared with other Schindleria species.
The first specimen was collected by Jeff Leis in 1979, but the species was not formally described until a 2004 paper (Watson and Walker).
The discovery of S. brevipinguis relegated to second place the previous smallest known vertebrate, Trimmatom nanus
, a dwarf goby
of the western Indian Ocean
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of marine
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
in family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Schindleriidae of Perciformes
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...
.
S. brevipinguis is the second smallest known fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
. The species grows to a maximum total length of 8.4 millimetre (0.330708661417323 in), with males being mature at a length of 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in); the smallest vertebrate species currently is the recently (Jan 2006) identified Paedocypris progenetica
Paedocypris progenetica
Paedocypris progenetica is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Indonesia where it is found in peat swamps and blackwater streams. It is one of the smallest vertebrates in the world with females reaching a maximum size of 10.3 mm, males 9.8 mm and the smallest mature specimen, a female, measured...
, while the parasitic males of the anglerfish
Anglerfish
Anglerfishes are members of the teleost order Lophiiformes . They are bony fishes named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head acts as a lure; this is considered analogous to angling.Some anglerfishes are pelagic , while others are benthic...
Photocorynus spiniceps
Photocorynus spiniceps
Photocorynus spiniceps is a species of anglerfish in the family Linophrynidae. It is in the monotypic genus Photocorynus.The known mature male individuals are 6.2–7.3 millimeters , smaller than any other mature fish and vertebrate; the females, however, reach a significantly larger size of up...
are but 6.2 millimetre (0.244094488188976 in) long. S. brevipinguis is distinguished from the similar S. praematura by having its first anal-fin ray further forward, under dorsal-fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
4, rather than 7–11 in S. praematura. The body weight is approximately 1 milligram.
The specific epithet, brevipinguis, derives from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
brevis (short) and pinguis (stout), in reference to the fish's shorter, thicker body, as compared with other Schindleria species.
The first specimen was collected by Jeff Leis in 1979, but the species was not formally described until a 2004 paper (Watson and Walker).
The discovery of S. brevipinguis relegated to second place the previous smallest known vertebrate, Trimmatom nanus
Trimmatom nanus
Trimmatom nanus is a species of marine fish in family Gobiidae of Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the fishes called dwarf gobies, it is native to the Chagos Archipelago and the Maldives in the western Indian Ocean....
, a dwarf goby
Goby
The gobies form the family Gobiidae, which is one of the largest families of fish, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm in length...
of the western Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.