Perak Fish - 2nd Smallest Fish

Quoted from Star Online dated 15/11/2006

EXCITING FIND - The 10mm-long ‘Perak fish’ which was found in a peat swamp is believed to be a new species.

A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) scientist has discovered a 10mm-long fish at maturity, believed to be the second smallest fish in the world, in a peat swamp in Perak.

The unidentified new species was discovered by USM School of Biology lecturer, Assoc. Prof Dr Khoo Khay Huat recently during his research at the peat swamp. But the biological aspects, including the species and its breeding pattern are still under study.

Dr Khoo said the fish lived in dark tea-coloured waters with an acidity of between pH4 and pH5, which was close to that of vinegar. The fish was unofficially called “Perak fish” and the study to identify its genus and species is expected to be ready within a year, he told reporters here.

He also said that before the discovery of “Perak fish”, he discovered a 1.2cm-long fish of the Paedocypris Mecromegethes species in Sungai Gayau, Mukah, Sarawak, about a month ago. He said the name for the species was derived from the Greek word Paideios which means children and Micromegethes meaning small in size.

“So, we call it a child-like fish. We believe that the two fishes are from the same genus but from a different species,” he added.

He said extensive studies would be carried out immediately before their habitat disappears completely due to widespread forest destruction and major development to turn the Sungai Gayau peat swamp into oil palm plantations.

Dr Khoo said he and his team would be going to Indonesia to do a comparative study on the two species and the smallest fish in the world found in the peat swamps in Jambi, Sumatra. The fish, known as Jambi, was 7.9mm-long at maturity and was found in pools of dark tea-coloured water with an acidity of PH3, which is at least 100 times more acidic than rain water. The tiny, see-through “Jambi” fish had the appearance of a larva and had a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain unprotected by bone, and was similar to the species found in Sungai Gayau - Bernama

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