Nannostomus espei (Meinken, 1956)
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 espei (from the Greek: nanos = "small", and the Latin stomus = relating to the mouth; espei = in honor of tropical fish importer/exporter, Heinrich Espe), commonly known as Espe's pencilfish or barred pencilfish, is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the characin family Lebiasinidae.
It was first described in 1956 by Herman Meinken from the Mazaruni River system in Guyana and to date, this is its only known location.
It is notable within the genus in that the dominant body pattern consists of five broad, comma-like patches instead of the more normal horizontal stripes seen in the rest of the genus. This pattern of patches is assumed by other species at night, but only N. espei displays the pattern permanently and in daylight.
The fish is named in honor of ornamental fish importer-exporter Heinrich Espe, who furnished specimens to Meinken for identification.
Wikipedia contributors, Nannostomus espei; 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 espei (Meinken, 1956)
- Name authority
- (Meinken, 1956)
- 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 espei (Meinken, 1956)
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 eques Steindachner, 1876 | 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 espei Meinken, 1956 Meinken, 1956 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1524900 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:45MRN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.