Osphronemus

Osphronemus
Osphronemus goramy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Osphronemidae
Subfamily: Osphroneminae
Bleeker, 1859
Genus: Osphronemus
Lacépède, 1801
Type species
Osphronemus goramy
Lacépède 1801
Color: extant , Light color: possibly extant
Synonyms
  • Trichopus G. Shaw, 1803
  • Osphromenus Günther, 1861

Osphronemus is a genus of large gouramis, the only genus within the subfamily Osphroneminae. These fish are known as the giant gouramis and are native to rivers, lakes, pools, swamps and floodplains in Southeast Asia, with O. exodon from the Mekong basin, O. laticlavius and O. septemfasciatus from Borneo, while O. goramy is relatively widespread.[1][2][3] O. goramy has been introduced outside its native range in Asia, Africa and Australia.[4]

All the species are highly prized as food fish, leading to farming of O. goramy and rearing of O. septemfasciatus.[5] Osphronemus appear in the aquarium trade, but they are very long-lived, possibly reaching up to 40 years old,[5] and require a very large tank with a strong filter.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Roberts, T.R. (1992). Systematic revision of the Southeast Asian anabantoid fish genus Osphronemus, with descriptions of two new species. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 2(4):351–360.
  3. ^ Roberts, T.R. (1994). Osphronemus exodon, a new species of giant gourami with extraordinary dentition from the Mekong. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 42(1): 67–77.
  4. ^ Roberts, T.R. (1989). "The freshwater fishes of Western Borneo (Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia)". Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences. 14: 1–210.
  5. ^ a b Jongkar, G., and Nyanti, L. (2012). Notes on the giant gourami Osphronemus septemfasciatus Roberts, 1992 (Perciformes: Osphronemidae) from Batang Kanowit in Sarawak, Malaysia. The Sarawak Museum Journal LXX, No. 91: 239–255.
  6. ^ PracticalFishkeeping (13 June 2016). Elephant ear gourami, Osphronemus exodon.