Anableps anableps (Linnaeus, 1758)

Open encyclopedia reference

Anableps anableps, the largescale four-eyes, is a species of four-eyed fish found in fresh and brackish waters of northern South America and Trinidad. This species grows to a length of 24.5 centimetres (9.6 in) standard length (SL). This fish can occasionally be found in the aquarium trade. The fish does not actually have four eyes. Instead, each eye is split into two lobes by a horizontal band of tissue, each lobe with its own pupil and separate vision. This allows the fish to see above and below the surface of the water at the same time. This species has been documented to occasionally feed on land. Both sexes exhibit asymmetrical genitalia.

Wikipedia contributors, Anableps anableps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:00:01.676520+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Anableps anableps (Linnaeus, 1758)

Name authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Cyprinodontiformes

Family

Anablepidae

Genus

Anableps

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCyprinodontiformes
11. familyAnablepidae Bonaparte, 1831
12. subfamilyAnablepinae Bonaparte, 1831
13. genusAnableps Scopoli, 1777
14. speciesAnableps anableps (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Anableps. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 18 records assigned to Anablepidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=279598 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:66GFD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.