Smallest fish (Marine)
Last updated: April 10, 2020 at 13:59 pm
The male stout infantfish (Schindleria brevipinguis), a.k.a. stout floater, has a maximum standard length of 7.7 mm (0.30 in). The maximum standard length of the species is 10 mm (0.39 in), which is slightly longer than the smallest freshwater species, and the world’s smallest fish, the sleeper goby (Leptophilypnion pusillus). It is endemic to the Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. The male dwarf goby (Trimmatom nanus) has a maximum standard length of 8.6 mm (0.34 in). It inhabits the Indo-Pacific.
Watson, William; Walker, Jr., H. J. (2004). The World’s Smallest Vertebrate, Schindleria brevipinguis, A New Paedomorphic Species in the Family Schindleriidae (Perciformes: Gobioidei). Records of the Australian Museum. Australian Museum. 56: 139–142. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.56.2004.1429
Australian Museum | Stout Floater, Schindleria brevipinguis, Watson & Walker, 2004
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Jeffrey Gallant is the Editor-in-Chief and Records Keeper of the Diving Almanac. He is also a contributing editor of DIVER Magazine, and the scientific director of the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group (GEERG). Jeffrey started diving in 1982.
