Bony Fish Codexery

Danionin

Small, colorful freshwater fish from South and Southeast Asia.

Last updated

Danionins are a group of freshwater fish whose classification has been actively debated throughout the 20th century.[1] The earliest known danionin fossils are two species tentatively assigned to Rasbora from the Eocene of Sumatra, Indonesia.[2] Some sources treat danionins as the subfamily Danioninae within Cyprinidae, while others consider Danioninae a synonym of Rasborinae.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderCypriniformes
  6. FamilyDanionidae

Named by Bleeker 1863

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Danionin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Classification
Family Danionidae, suborder Cyprinoidei
Native range
South and Southeast Asia, with fewer species in Africa
Habitat
Shallow freshwater ponds, streams, floodplains, marshes, and paddies
Earliest fossil record
Eocene of Sumatra, Indonesia (tentatively assigned to Rasbora)

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

A defining feature proposed for danionins was the "danionin notch," a large indentation in the medial margin of the mandibles.[4] However, a 2003 phylogenetic analysis by Fang Fang found that the danionin notch is not a reliable synapomorphy for the group.[5][6] That same 2003 study found Danio and Brachydanio to be paraphyletic.[5][6] Celestichthys lacks a danionin notch but possesses a "danionin mandibular knob," a bony process that may be diagnostic of danionins.[7]

All Asian cyprinids with fewer than 10/9 principal caudal fin rays are diminutive species of Danioninae, including Celestichthys, Danionella, and Paedocypris.[7] A 2007 analysis placed Paedocypris as the sister taxon to Sundadanio, and the clade formed by these two genera was sister to a clade including many danionin and rasborin genera.[8][9] According to Roberts (1986), the genera Parabarilius, Danio, Brachydanio, and Danionella were once considered part of the danionin group.[4] Roberts (2007) described the new genus and species Celestichthys margaritatus as belonging to the Danioninae.[7]

Roberts (2007) observed that the mandibular knob is more developed in male specimens than in female ones.[7]

What the specialist sources record

A 2007 study by Mayden and colleagues found Danio to be the sister group of a clade including Chela, Microrasbora, Devario, and Inlecypris.[10][11] The 2007 study supported a close relationship between "Microrasbora" erythromicron and Danio species, but did not include Celestichthys.[10][11] The World Register of Marine Species lists Danionidae as an accepted family within Cypriniformes, with an environment of brackish and freshwater.[12] GBIF holds 11 occurrence records for the family Danionidae as of October 2026.[13]

Fang's 2003 phylogenetic analysis in Copeia identified a clade comprising Inlecypris and Chela as the sister group to Devario, and controversially placed Esomus as the sister group to Danio.[5][6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brittan, "Danios, A guide to the identification, care and breeding of fishes of the genera Danio and Brachydanio", T.F.H.Publications, 1958 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray, "Early Cenozoic Cyprinoids (Ostariophysi: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae and Danionidae) from Sumatra, Indonesia", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2020-01-02 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clarke, "A fishkeeper's guide to danios and devarios", Practical Fishkeeping; Nelson, "Fishes of the World", John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006; Fang, "Phylogenetic Analysis of the Asian Cyprinid Genus Danio (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)", Copeia, 2003, p. 714–728 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roberts, "Danionella translucida, a new genus and species of cyprinid fish from Burma, one of the smallest living vertebrates", Environmental Biology of Fishes, 1986, p. 231–241 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fang, "Phylogenetic Analysis of the Asian Cyprinid Genus Danio (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)", Copeia, 2003, p. 714–728 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Fang Fang, "Phylogenetic Analysis of the Asian Cyprinid Genus Danio (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)", Copeia (2003), doi:10.1643/ia03-131.1. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roberts, "The "Celestial pearl danio", a new genus and species of colourful minute cyprinid fish from Myanmar (Pisces: Cypriniformes)", The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2007, p. 131–140 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rüber, "Evolution of miniaturization and the phylogenetic position of Paedocypris, comprising the world's smallest vertebrate", BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2007, p. 1–10 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Lukas Rüber, "Evolution of miniaturization and the phylogenetic position of Paedocypris, comprising the world's smallest vertebrate", BMC Evolutionary Biology (2007), doi:10.1186/1471-2148-7-38. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Danionin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roberts, "The "Celestial pearl danio", a new genus and species of colourful minute cyprinid fish from Myanmar (Pisces: Cypriniformes)", The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2007, p. 131–140; Mayden, "Phylogenetic relationships of Danio within the order Cypriniformes: a framework for comparative and evolutionary studies of a model species", J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.), 2007, p. 1–13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Rolf Backofen, "RNAs everywhere: genome‐wide annotation of structured RNAs", Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B Molecular and Developmental Evolution (2006), doi:10.1002/jez.b.21130. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  12. World Register of Marine Species, Danionidae (AphiaID 1517455). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  13. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Danionidae (taxon key 10087461). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Danionin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Bony Fish

DragonetEmperor angelfishEuropean eelEuropean perchFilefishBarramundiBarreleyeBasa (fish)Beluga (sturgeon)BillfishBlack bullheadBlack ghost knifefish

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →