Mo Ganji: Thicklip Pupfish | Dicklippiger Kärpfling | Cyprinodon labiosus | No. 223/250 from work group 8/99

Thicklip Pupfish | Dicklippiger Kärpfling | Cyprinodon labiosus

Mo Ganji turns toward the thicklip pupfish — a small freshwater fish endemic to isolated volcanic pools — by letting the single line move toward inner essence rather than specialization or adaptation. The line condenses the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside ecological niche and anatomical distinction so that what remains is presence itself. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not belong to the fish alone; it remains open, reminding us that every figure is also a human concept provisionally attached to a living reality.

Cyprinodon labiosus is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Endemic to the Galápagos Islands, the species occupies a limited number of hypersaline and freshwater lagoons. Its highly restricted range makes it particularly sensitive to environmental change, even when local populations appear stable.

The principal threats include habitat alteration, water extraction, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species that compete for resources or prey on eggs and juveniles. Because the thicklip pupfish is confined to small, isolated water bodies, any disturbance can rapidly affect the entire population. Climate-driven changes in rainfall and salinity further increase risk.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the fish can be encountered beyond adaptation or exception. It allows the being to be perceived as a life sustained within narrow limits, suggesting how existence in isolated systems depends not on excess or resilience, but on the continued balance of conditions that allow even the smallest forms to persist.