''Paedocypris progenetica'' (also known as Indonesian Superdwarf Fish) is a species of tiny

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a Family (biology), family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barb (fish), barbs and barbel (fish), barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the ...

fish

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Indonesian islands of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and Bintan where it is found in peat swamps and slow flowing blackwater streams. It was discovered by Singaporean ichthyologist Heok Hui Tan in 2006. He has written a description of the fish along with another species of the same genus called '' Paedocypris micromegethes''. It is one of the smallest known fish in the world, together with species such as ''

Schindleria brevipinguis ''Schindleria brevipinguis'' is a species of seawater, marine fish in family (biology), family Gobiidae of order (biology), Perciformes. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral ...

'', with the females reaching a maximum

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of , and the males reaching a maximum st and the smallest known mature specimen, a female, measuring only . It held the record for the shortest known

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

until the frog ''

Paedophryne amauensis ''Paedophryne amauensis'', also known as the New Guinea Amau frog, is a species of microhylid frog endemic to eastern Papua New Guinea. At in snout-to-vent length, it was once considered the world's smallest known vertebrate. (See also Ecolo ...

'' was formally described in January 2012, and the parasitic males of the

anglerfish The anglerfish are ray-finned fish in the order Lophiiformes (). Both the order's common name, common and scientific name comes from the characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified dorsal Fish fin#Ray-fins, fin ray acts as a Aggressiv ...

Photocorynus spiniceps ''Photocorynus'' is a monospecific genus of marine life, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish belonging to the family leftvent, Linophrynidae, the leftvents. The only species in the genus is ''Photocorynus spiniceps''. ''Photocorynus'' was fi ...

'' are only long. The fish's diet consists of small planktonic rotifers and cladocerans.

Anatomy

Due to its size, the fishes'

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

is very rudimentary. Its spine is made of 33 - 35

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

and it has a roofless skull. The Indonesian Superdwarf Fish displays unique reproductive adaptations, including modified pelvic fins in males, with its survival threatened by habitat destruction.

References

* Paedocypris Cyprinid fish of Asia Freshwater fish of Indonesia Taxa named by Maurice Kottelat Taxa named by Ralf Britz Taxa named by Heok Hui Tan Taxa named by Kai-Erik Witte Fish described in 2006 {{cypriniformes-stub