Anableps dowei

{{Short description|Species of fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = FMIB 51859 Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovii Gill Tehuantepee, Mexico.jpeg

| image_caption = Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovii Gill. Tehuantepee, Mexico

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Daniels, A.|author2=Maiz-Tome, L.|date=2019|title=Anableps dowei |volume=2019|page=e.T191300A1975324|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191300A1975324.en|access-date=27 January 2022}}

| taxon = Anableps dowei

| authority = (T. N. Gill, 1861)

| synonyms = {{plainlist|

• Anableps dowi T. N. Gill, 1861
• Anableps dovii Gill, 1861}}

| synonyms_ref = {{Fishbase|Anableps|dowei|month=June|year=2020}}

}}

The Pacific four-eyed fish (Anableps dowei) is a species of four-eyed fish native to the coastal waters on the Pacific side of southern Mexico to Nicaragua.{{Cite web|title=Species: Anableps dowei, Northern four-eye, Pacific four-eyes |url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/sftep/en/thefishes/species/2581|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407032512/http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu:80/sftep/en/thefishes/species/2581 |archive-date=2017-04-07 |website=Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system}} This fish is gregarious and inhabits mangrove swamps, tidal mudflats, and other coastal brackish ecosystems. During low tide, they will crawl onto shore to eat algae and other organic matter. This species has female biased sexual dimorphism, with males growing to {{cvt|22|cm}} TL while females can grow up to {{cvt|34|cm|1}} TL. The male also has a prominent gonopodium used to impregnate females during mating. As with other members of Anablepinae, this species is livebearing and has left or right leaning genitals to prevent inbreeding.

The name "four-eyed fish" comes from how the eyes of the fish are split into two lobes horizontally, each with its own pupil and vision. This allows the fish to see above and below the water at the same time.{{cite journal |last1=Sivak |first1=J.G. |title=Optics of the eye of the 'four-eyed fish' (Anableps anableps) |journal=Vision Research |date=January 1976 |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=531–IN6 |doi=10.1016/0042-6989(76)90035-3 |pmid=941438 }}.Aiding in predator detection and prey location. Additionally, the fish has specialized muscles enabling each eye to adjust its focus independently, further enhancing its ability to adapt to both aerial and aquatic environments.{{Cite journal |last1=Perez |first1=Louise N. |last2=Lorena |first2=Jamily |last3=Costa |first3=Carinne M. |last4=Araujo |first4=Maysa S. |last5=Frota-Lima |first5=Gabriela N. |last6=Matos-Rodrigues |first6=Gabriel E. |last7=Martins |first7=Rodrigo A. P. |last8=Mattox |first8=George M. T. |last9=Schneider |first9=Patricia N. |date=2017-04-12 |title=Eye development in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps : cranial and retinal adaptations to simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=284 |issue=1852 |pages=20170157 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2017.0157 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=5394668 |pmid=28381624}}