Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Coral red pencilfish (Nannostomus mortenthaleri), recorded as Critically Endangered
Coral red pencilfish (Nannostomus mortenthaleri). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Critically Endangered

Coral red pencilfish

Nannostomus mortenthaleri

Coral red pencilfish is a ray-finned fish in the family Lebiasinidae (order Characiformes) — Nannostomus mortenthaleri, recorded as Critically Endangered.

Status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Nannostomus mortenthaleri
Taxonomy
Characiformes · Lebiasinidae · Nannostomus

Appearance

The coral red pencilfish is one of the most colorful of its genus, being suffused with a bright coral red coloration over its entire body and fins, in striking contrast to the jet black stripes. The maximum length is 2.9 cm (1.1 in), and mature males have a thickened anal fin.

Range and habitat

The known distribution of the coral red pencilfish is fairly restricted: it has only been recorded from a small tributary of the Nanay River, and possibly also from the Tigre River. Both of these rivers are in Peru. It can be found in the aquarium trade.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Habits

Characiforms school or hold small territories in Neotropical rivers. Many named tetras are known from one drainage that can be silted or dammed.

In crisis

Coral red pencilfish is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Coral red pencilfish, Wikidata item Q1164371. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Also in this catalog

Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Coral red pencilfish?
Coral red pencilfish is a ray-finned fish in the family Lebiasinidae (order Characiformes) — Nannostomus mortenthaleri.
What is the conservation status of Coral red pencilfish?
Critically Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Nannostomus mortenthaleri. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Coral red pencilfish live?
The known distribution of the coral red pencilfish is fairly restricted: it has only been recorded from a small tributary of the Nanay River, and possibly also from the Tigre River.
Why is Coral red pencilfish in crisis?
It is Critically Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Nannostomus mortenthaleri?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Coral red pencilfish a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.