Ostorhinchus nanus, Tiny cardinalfish

Ostorhinchus nanus (Allen, Kuiter & Randall, 1994)

Tiny cardinalfish
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Ostorhinchus nanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Ostorhinchus nanus (Tiny cardinalfish)
Ostorhinchus nanus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Kurtiformes (Nurseryfishes, cardinalfishes.) > Apogonidae (Cardinalfishes) > Apogoninae
Etymology: nanus: Name from Latin 'nanus' meaning dwarf, referring to its size being one of the smallest in the genus.
More on authors: Allen, Kuiter & Randall.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 20 m (Ref. 48635). Tropical

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Western Central Pacific: Madang, Papua New Guinea; Maumere, Indonesia; and, near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 48635)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 24. This species is distinguished by having D VI-I,9; A II,8; pectoral rays 13; lateral line scales 24; predorsal scales 5; gill rakers 7 or 8+20 or 21, excluding an indistinct rudiment on upper limb; preopercular margin serrate; preopercular ridge smooth; body depth 3.4-3.7 in SL; semi-transparent in life with golden-brown midlateral strip, bordered below by narrow silver stripe; tip of lower jaw blackish (Ref. 11893).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in silty inshore reefs; aggregations observed hovering during the day around both soft and hard coral formations. An oral brooding male collected at Madang, papua New Guinea, contained 328 eggs, which is a relatively low number for the genus (Ref. 11893).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Mouthbrooders (Ref. 240). Distinct pairing during courtship and spawning (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., R.H. Kuiter and J.E. Randall, 1994. Descriptions of five new species of cardinalfishes (Apogonidae: Apogon) from Maumere Bay, Flores, Indonesia and surrounding regions. Rev. Fr. Aquariol. 21(1-2):27-38. (Ref. 11893)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 03 February 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |