Anableps microlepis
{{Short description|Species of four-eyed fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Anableps-microlepis-Michael-Barth.jpg
| image_caption = Anableps microlepis from Meerzorg, Suriname
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Anableps
| species = microlepis
| authority = Müller & Troschel, 1844
| synonyms =
{{Species list
| Anableps coarctatus | Valenciennes, 1846
| Anableps elongatus | Valenciennes, 1846
}}
| synonyms_ref = {{cite WoRMS |title=Anableps microlepis |id=279600 |access-date=11 February 2022}}
}}
The finescaled four-eyed fish (Anableps microlepis) is a species of four-eyed fish found in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Trinidad and Tobago down to southeastern Brazil.{{FishBase |genus=Anableps |species=microlepis |id=7380 |month=February |year=2022}}{{EOL|46566852|Anableps microlepis}}{{Cite journal|last=Garcia |display-authors=et al|date=May 2015|title=Coastal fishes of Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil, with new records|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276888555|journal=Check List|volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=1–24|via=ResearchGate}} They mostly inhabit brackish environments such as estuaries, mangrove swamps, and tidal mudflats. It grows to approximately 30 cm (12 in) in length.{{Cite web|title=Species: Anableps microlepis, Finescale four-eyes|url=https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3310 |access-date=11 February 2022|website=Shorefishes}}
This fish mostly feeds on organic matter and small invertebrates. In Manzanilla, this fish was found to feed on sand crabs (Emerita portoricensis) and small bivalves (Donax denticulatus).{{Cite journal|last=Kerwath |display-authors=et al|date=January 2001|title=Feeding habits of Anableps microlepis (Anablepidae, Cyprinodontiformes) from two ecologically different habitats in Trinidad, West Indies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235763021|journal=Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Ichthyologie|volume=2|pages=119–129|via=ResearchGate}} While looking for food, they travel up and down the coastline in large groups ranging from a dozen to more than a hundred fish.
Like other members of Anableps, this species has eyes that are split into two lobes, allowing it to see above and below water at the same time.{{Cite journal|last=Schwassmann |display-authors=et al|date=July 1966|title=Experimental analysis of the visual system of the four-eyed fish Anableps microlepis|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/17280032|journal=Vision Research|volume=5 |issue=6–7 |pages=269–281|doi=10.1016/0042-6989(65)90004-0 |pmid=5905869 |via=ResearchGate}} They can be distinguished from the sympatric Anableps anableps by having smaller and more numerous scales (76-83 compared to the less than 64 of A. anableps). They also have a left or right-leaning gonopodium like other Anablepidae members and give live birth.{{Cite thesis|last=Götz|first=Albrecht|date=June 1998|title=Field research on reproduction, growth and age of Anableps microlepis in Trinidad|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264912231|publisher=Institute of Zoology II Science Department II|via=ResearchGate}}