Ostorhinchus nanus (Allen, Kuiter & Randall, 1994)
Tiny cardinalfish
photo by Randall, J.E.

Family:  Apogonidae (Cardinalfishes), subfamily: Apogoninae
Max. size:  6 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  reef-associated; marine; depth range 3 - 20 m
Distribution:  Western Central Pacific: Madang, Papua New Guinea; Maumere, Indonesia; and, near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 7-7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-9; Anal spines: 2-2; Anal soft rays: 8-8; Vertebrae: 24-24. This species is distinguished by having D VI-I,9; A II,8; pectoral rays 13; lateral line scales 24; predorsal scales 5; gill rakers 7 or 8+20 or 21, excluding an indistinct rudiment on upper limb; preopercular margin serrate; preopercular ridge smooth; body depth 3.4-3.7 in SL; semi-transparent in life with golden-brown midlateral strip, bordered below by narrow silver stripe; tip of lower jaw blackish (Ref. 11893).
Biology:  Occurs in silty inshore reefs; aggregations observed hovering during the day around both soft and hard coral formations. An oral brooding male collected at Madang, papua New Guinea, contained 328 eggs, which is a relatively low number for the genus (Ref. 11893).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 03 February 2021 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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