New Miniature Fish Discovered

^{Credit: Ralf Britz}

An international team of scientists on an expedition to remote stretches of the Rio Negro in Brazil have discovered a previously unknown species of incredibly tiny fish. At 15.6mm long, Priocharax nanus can be safely described as “minute”, and it joins the equally small list of miniature fish known to exist around the world.

The tiny tiddler is complete in every way, managing to pack fully-formed internal organs, eyes, muscles and a skeletal system into its diminutive body, and like many miniature fish, P. nanus is transparent, making it even harder for predators to spot in the dark, tea-like water of the Rio negro. However, at 15.6mm long, it’s still nearly twice as long as Paedocypris progenetica, which at just 7.9mm long is the contender for the title of “world’s smallest vertebrate.”