Scientists in San Diego have described the earth's smallest, lightest animal with a backbone. H.J. Walker of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and William Watson of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, in La Jolla have identified the miniscule stout infantfish, a new species no longer than the width of a pencil.
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Stout Infantfish - a 8.4 mm {about a quarter-inch} ( standard length mature female fish caught in the Great Barrier Reef in 1982. Note the large eggs visible through the lower side of the fish. Photo: H.J. Walker.