Trimmatom nanus
Encyclopedia
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
.
With adults growing to a total overall length of just over 10 mm (less than one-half inch), T. nanus was until 2004 the shortest known fish and vertebrate
. The recent discovery of Schindleria brevipinguis
(called the stout infantfish) relegated it to second place. After discovery of Paedocypris progenetica
, Trimmatom nanus is on third place
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...
Gobiidae 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...
. It is the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of its genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. One of the fishes called dwarf gobies, it is native to the Chagos Archipelago
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
and the Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
in 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...
.
With adults growing to a total overall length of just over 10 mm (less than one-half inch), T. nanus was until 2004 the shortest known fish 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 recent discovery of Schindleria brevipinguis
Schindleria brevipinguis
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....
(called the stout infantfish) relegated it to second place. After discovery of 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...
, Trimmatom nanus is on third place