Betta mahachaiensis, a new species of bubble-nesting fighting fish (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand

Abstract

Betta mahachaiensis, a new species of fighting fish belonging to the Betta splendens group, is described. The fish inhabitsspecifically sites with brackish water and nipa palms in the Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. It is distinguishable from othermembers of the B. splendens group in having an iridescent green/bluish-green appearance on the brown-to-black bodybackground. The opercular membrane has brown-to-black colour without red streaks or patches. The opercle has two paralleliridescent green or bluish-green vertical bars. Its dorsal, caudal, and anal fin rays are brown to black, contrasting with theiridescent green or bluish-green of the interradial membrane. Black transverse bars are present on at least the proximal two-thirds of the dorsal fin, but not on the caudal fin. The colour of the pelvic fins is brown to black with an iridescent green/ bluish-green front margin and a white tip. Females possess similar characters but are less colourful than males.

Biodiversity of the Betta smaragdina (Teleostei: Perciformes) in the northeast region of Thailand as determined by mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS1 gene sequences

“…The contribution of ITS1 in this regard was rather significant since it was consistent with the morphological evidence. The combined tree also supported the species statuses of B. mahachaiensis ( Kowasupat et al, 2012a ), B. siamorientalis ( Kowasupat et al, 2012b ) and B. stiktos ( Tan and Ng, 2005 ), with the posterior probabilities of 1 for all three clades. Given these species statuses, it is likely that there are three new cryptic species (all also with posterior probabilities of 1) within the B. smaragdina group, whose statuses should nevertheless be further ascertained.…”

“…Fighting fish belonging to the genus betta are native to most ASEAN countries except the Philippines. Identifying new species of the betta fighting fish, the bubble nesters and the mouth brooders, in these Southeast Asian countries is still an active undertaking with most reports basing their species differentiation on morphological criteria ( Schindler and Schmidt, 2008 , Tan, 2009a , Tan, 2009b , Kowasupat et al, 2012a , Kowasupat et al, 2012b , Schindler and Linke, 2013 , Tan, 2013 ).…”

“…We reported in 2012 two new species of bubble-nesting bettas, B. mahachaiensis and B. siamorientalis , in central and eastern Thailand based on morphological characters as well as short pieces of a mitochondrial COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) gene and a nuclear ITS1 (internal transcribed spacer 1) DNA ( Kowasupat et al, 2012a , Kowasupat et al, 2012b ). Previously in 2010, in the preliminary work on the Betta sp.…”

Southeast Asian mouth-brooding Betta fighting fish (Teleostei: Perciformes) species and their phylogenetic relationships based on mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS1 DNA sequences and analyses

“…Fighting fishes in the genus Betta have received constant international interest in terms of discovery and identification of species. These fishes have been reported in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam ( Kowasupat et al, 2012a , Kowasupat et al, 2012b , Schindler and Linke, 2013 , Schindler and Schmidt, 2006 , Schindler and Schmidt, 2008 , Tan, 2009a , Tan, 2009b , Tan, 2013 , Tan and Ng, 2005 , Witte and Schmidt, 1992 ). In caring for fertilized eggs and newly hatched fry, the male of one type of fish (the bubble nester) builds a bubble nest as temporary shelter for the vulnerable ones, whereas the male of the other type (the mouth brooder) protects the fertilized eggs and the hatchlings in its mouth until release.…”

Life in a bubble: the role of the labyrinth organ in determining territory, mating and aggressive behaviours in anabantoids

“…() reported that the fish composition of Bakong River and its tributaries were dominated by the anabantoids, seemingly able to flourish within the systems stagnant, organically polluted waters. In addition to these findings, there are many more reports of various Anabantoid species flourishing in river systems rife with effluents throughout South‐East Asia (Kowasupat et al ., , b ; Rahim et al ., ).…”