Nannostomus eques Steindachner, 1876
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
Nannostomus eques (from the Greek nanos, meaning "small", the Latin stomus, relating to the mouth, and the Latin eques, meaning "horseman"), commonly known as the diptail, brown or hockey stick pencilfish, is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the characin family Lebiasinidae.
It was first described in 1876 by Franz Steindachner, making it one of the first members of the genus to be discovered and described.
It is fairly typical of members of this genus, being a small, elongated fish with prominent horizontal stripes.
It occurs quite widely in South America, having been recorded in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Guyana.
It is also common in the aquarium trade, where its habit of swimming and posturing at a 'snout-up' angle—one of two Nannostomus species to do so, the other being Nannostomus unifasciatus—makes it a popular choice.
Wikipedia contributors, Nannostomus eques; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:16:42.787388+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nannostomus eques Steindachner, 1876
- Name authority
- Steindachner, 1876
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Characiformes
- Family
- Lebiasinidae
- Genus
- Nannostomus
- 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
- orderCharaciformes
- suborderCharacoidei
- familyLebiasinidae Gill, 1889
- subfamilyPyrrhulininae Bleeker, 1859
- genusNannostomus Günther, 1872
- speciesNannostomus eques Steindachner, 1876
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nannostomus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nannostomus anduzei Fernandez & Weitzman, 1987 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus beckfordi Günther, 1872 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus erythrurus (Eigenmann, 1909) | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus harrisoni (Eigenmann, 1909) | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus minimus Eigenmann, 1909 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus nitidus Weitzman, 1978 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus trifasciatus Steindachner, 1876 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus unifasciatus Steindachner, 1876 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus bifasciatus Hoedeman, 1954 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus britskii Weitzman, 1978 | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus digrammus (Fowler, 1913) | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nannostomus espei (Meinken, 1956) | LebiasinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Poecilobrycon eques (Steindachner, 1876) (Steindachner, 1876) | synonym |
| Poecilobrycon auratus Eigenmann, 1909 Eigenmann, 1909 | synonym |
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.
- Steindachner, F. (1876). Ichthyologische Beiträge (V). [Subtitles i-v.]. Sitzungsberichte Der Kaiserlichen Akademie Der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, v. 74 (1. Abth.): 49–240, Pls. 1–15. [Also as a separate, pp. 1–192, Pls. 1–15. According to 1974 reprint of Ichthyologische Beiträge the date is 1877. Date of separate may be 1876, the date we use.]. 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:45MRL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.