Pencil fish
| Pencilfish | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Lebiasinidae |
| Genus: |
Nannostomus Günther, 1872 |
| Type species | |
|
Nannostomus beckfordi Günther, 1872 |
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Nannostomus (from the Greek: nanno = small, stomus = mouth) is a genus of fish belonging to the Lebiasinidae family of characins. All of the species in this genus are known as pencil fish or pencilfish, a popular name that was first only applied to two species in the 1920s, Nannostomus unifasciatus and Nannostomus eques, but by the late 1950s would come to be applied to all members of the genus. Several of the species have become popular aquarium fish due to their attractive coloration, unique shape, and interesting demeanor.
The genus Nannostomus was first erected by Günther in 1872 with the type species, Nannostomus beckfordi. In 1876, Steindachner described three more species, Nannostomus unifasciatus, Nannostomus eques (pictured below) and Nannostomus trifasciatus (pictured above). In 1909, Carl H. Eigenmann described Nannostomus marginatus, Nannostomus minimus and Nannostomus harrisoni. All but N. minimus have been popular with aquarists since the early 20th century, in part due to enthusiastic articles written about them, and photographs taken of them, by William T. Innes that were published as early as 1933. Over the years, the genus was split by subsequent authors into other genera, including Poecilobrycon and Nannobrycon. After nearly a century of debate on the subject, Dr. Stanley H. Weitzman and Dr. J. Stanley Cobb restored earlier taxonomy and expanded upon it, unifying all species under Nannostomus in 1975. This comprehensive revision of the genus has now been widely accepted. Dr. Weitzman is also responsible for the description of five of the more recently introduced species, Nannostomus marilynae, Nannostomus limatus, Nannostomus nitidus, Nannostomus britskii, and Nannostomus anduzei. Nineteen species are now known, most of which are also familiar to aquarists. Several other unidentified Nannostomus species have been imported over the years, many found as bycatch with other small characins, but their taxonomic status is yet to be determined.
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