Danionella dracula Britz, Conway & Rüber, 2009
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The dracula fish (Danionella dracula) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Danionidae. It is a freshwater fish endemic to Myanmar. A close relative is Danio rerio, the zebrafish of aquariums. It is named dracula after its unusual "fangs"; male dracula fish have protruding tooth-like bones stemming from their jawbones. Males have been observed using their fangs to spar with other males. Identified in April 2007 from specimens shipped to the United Kingdom in a consignment of aquarium fishes, the dracula fish has so far only been found in the wild in a small stream at Sha Du Zup between Mogaung and Tanai in northern Myanmar. It is a colourless miniature species and grows to a maximum size of around 17 millimetres (0.67 in). The fish has an elongate body with a large head and eyes. Dracula fish lack scales and the upper body is dominated by the jaws on large males.
Wikipedia contributors, Dracula fish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:29:31.990766+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Danionella dracula Britz, Conway & Rüber, 2009
- Name authority
- Britz, Conway & Rüber, 2009
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Danionella
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyDanioninae Bleeker, 1863
- genusDanionella Roberts, 1986
- speciesDanionella dracula Britz, Conway & Rüber, 2009
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Danionella. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Danionella mirifica Britz, 2003 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Danionella priapus Britz, 2009 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Danionella translucida Roberts, 1986 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Britz, R., Conway, K. W., & Rüber, L. (2009). Spectacular morphological novelty in a miniature cyprinid fish, Danionella dracula n. sp. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B - Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0141. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:34445. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.