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The world’s smallest vertebrate, Schindleria brevipinguis, a new paedomorphic species in the family Schindleriidae (Perciformes: Gobioidei)

2004; Australian Museum; Volume: 56; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3853/j.0067-1975.56.2004.1429

2201-4349

William Watson, H. J. Walker,

Marine animal studies overview

Schindleria brevipinguis n.sp., from the Lizard Island-Carter Reef vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia and from Osprey Reef nearby in the Coral Sea, is a small, unpigmented gobioid species distinctive in having fewer dorsal- and anal-fin rays and a deeper body with larger eyes than the other described species, S. pietschmanni and S. praematura. The urogenital papilla of male S. brevipinguishas a markedly different shape from those of the other two species. Schindleria brevipinguis apparently provides an even more extreme example of paedomorphosis than its congeners, and with males maturing by 7 mm and the largest specimen only 8.4 mm, it almost certainly is the world's smallest fish and smallest vertebrate.