Nannostomus harrisoni (Eigenmann, 1909)
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 harrisoni (from the Greek: nanos = small, and the Latin stomus = relating to the mouth; harrisoni = in honor of geologist John Burchmore Harrison), is a species of pencil fish. Native to the Guianas, the species displays a single horizontal stripe of intense black, and blood red adornments on its fins. N. harrisoni is often confused with Nannostomus unifasciatus, another long, slender, single-striped species with similar profile and coloration, but N. harrisoni swims in a horizontal posture, as opposed to the snout-up oblique posture of N. unifasciatus. The bright red adornments on the ventral fins of N. harrisoni are absent in N. unifasciatus. Though the recently described species N. grandis has been dubbed the largest member of the genus, adults of N. harrisoni commonly grow to a length of 70 mm (2.8 in), making it in fact the largest species of pencil fish described to date. It is commonly known as Harrison's pencilfish.
Wikipedia contributors, Nannostomus harrisoni; 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 harrisoni (Eigenmann, 1909)
- Name authority
- (Eigenmann, 1909)
- 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 harrisoni (Eigenmann, 1909)
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 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 |
| 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 harrisoni Eigenmann, 1909 Eigenmann, 1909 | synonym |
| Archicheir minutus 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1526043 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:45MRQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.