The Anabantiformes , is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

of bony fish (

Teleostei Teleostei (; Ancient Greek, Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all neontology, extant species of f ...

) proposed in 2009. They are collectively known as labyrinth fish, are an

of air-breathing

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

with three

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

s, eight

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

, and at least 350 species. This order is the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the

Synbranchiformes Synbranchiformes, often called swamp eels, though that name can also refer specifically to Synbranchidae, is an order of ray-finned fishes that are eel-like but have spiny rays, indicating that they belong to the superorder Acanthopterygii. ...

, with both comprising the

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Anabantaria. Anabantaria is a sister group to the

Carangiformes Carangiformes is a large, diverse order of ray-finned fishes within the clade Percomorpha. It is part of a sister clade to the Ovalentaria, alongside its sister group, the Anabantaria (including Anabantiformes and Synbranchiformes). The Cara ...

, with the clade comprising both being a sister clade to the

Ovalentaria Ovalentaria is a clade of ray-finned fishes within the Percomorpha, referred to as a subseries. It is made up of a group of fish families which are referred to in ''Fishes of the World's'' fifth edition as'' incertae sedis'', as well as the order ...

. This group of fish are found in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, with some species introduced to North America. These fish are characterized by the presence of teeth on the

parasphenoid The parasphenoid is a bone which can be found in the cranium of many vertebrates. It is an unpaired dermal bone which lies at the midline of the roof of the mouth. In many reptiles (including birds), it fuses to the endochondral (cartilage-derived ...

. The snakeheads and the

anabantoid The Anabantoidei are a suborder of anabantiform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or la ...

s are united by the presence of the labyrinth organ, which is a highly folded supra branchial accessory

breathing organ The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...

. It is formed by

vascular Vascular can refer to: * blood vessels, the vascular system in animals * vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex transporting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue ...

ized expansion of the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch and used for

respiration Respiration may refer to: Biology * Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell ** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen ** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellul ...

in air.Pinter, H. (1986). Labyrinth Fish. Barron's Educational Series, Inc., Many species are popular as aquarium fish - the most notable are the

Siamese fighting fish The Siamese fighting fish (''Betta splendens''), commonly known as the betta, is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is one of 76 species of the genus '' Bet ...

and several species of

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of fresh water, freshwater Anabantiformes, anabantiform fish that comprise the family (biology), family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeas ...

es. In addition to being aquarium fish, some of the larger anabantiforms (such as the giant gourami) are also harvested for food in their native countries.

Taxonomy

There are three suborders and eight families currently recognized within the order Anabantiformes: * Order Anabantiformes ** Suborder

Anabantoidei The Anabantoidei are a suborder of Anabantiformes, anabantiform ray-finned fish, ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

, 1940 *** Family Anabantidae Bonaparte, 1831 **** †'' Eoanabas'' Wu, Chang, Miao ''et al.'', 2016 **** '' Anabas'' Cloquet, 1816 **** '' Ctenopoma'' Peters, 1844 **** '' Microctenopoma'' Norris, 1995 **** '' Sandelia'' Castelnau, 1861 *** Family Helostomatidae

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

, 1872 **** '' Helostoma''

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

, 1829 *** Family

Osphronemidae Jan van der Hoeven (9 February 1801 – 10 March 1868) was a Dutch zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both l ...

van der Hoeven, 1832 **** †'' Ombilinichthys'' Murray et al., 2015a **** Subfamily Belontiinae

Liem Many Overseas Chinese, ethnic Chinese people have lived in Indonesia for many centuries. Over time, especially under social and political pressure during the New Order (Indonesia), New Order era, most Chinese Indonesians have adopted names that ...

, 1962 ***** '' Belontia''

Myers Myers as a surname has several possible origins, e.g. Old French ("physician"), Old English ("mayor"), and Old Norse ("marsh"). People * Abram F. Myers (1889–after 1960), chair of the Federal Trade Commission and later general counsel and b ...

, 1923 **** Subfamily Osphroneminae van der Hoeven, 1832 ***** '' Osphronemus'' Lacepède, 1801 **** Subfamily

Luciocephalinae Luciocephalinae is a subfamily of the gourami Family (biology), family Osphronemidae. The members of this subfamily differ from the other groups within the gourami family by having a reduced number of rays supporting the branchiostegal membrane, f ...

Bleeker, 1852 ***** ''

Luciocephalus ''Luciocephalus'' is a genus of gouramies native to Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of Ch ...

'' Bleeker, 1851 ***** ''

Sphaerichthys ''Sphaerichthys'' is a genus of gouramis native to Southeast Asia known as chocolate gourami. These species live mostly in blackwater rivers/swamps with acidic water. They have dark-light brownish hues with the exception being the female of S. ...

'' Canestrini, 1860 ***** ''

Ctenops The frail gourami (''Ctenops nobilis'') or noble gourami is a mouth brooding species of gourami native to northeastern India and Bangladesh . This species grows to a length of . It is only seldom found in the aquarium trade, courtesy of its ex ...

'' McClelland, 1845 ***** ''

Parasphaerichthys ''Parasphaerichthys'' is a genus of gouramies known only from streams and freshwater pools in the Irrawaddy basin of Myanmar. They are the small gouramies that, depending on the exact species, reach up to in length. Species There are currently ...

'' Prashad & Mukerji, 1929 **** Subfamily

Macropodusinae The Macropodusinae are a subfamily of fresh water, freshwater Anabantiformes, anabantiform fishes in the gourami Family (biology), family Osphronemidae, which includes the Macropodus, paradisefish, Betta, fighting fish and Parosphromenus, licoric ...

Hoedeman, 1948 ***** ''

Trichogaster ''Trichogaster'' is a genus of gouramis native to South Asia from Pakistan to Myanmar. It is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Trichogastrinae as set out in the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World'', although that book states that there ...

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& Schneider, 1801 ***** ''

Trichopodus ''Trichopodus'' (formerly included in '' Trichogaster'') is a genus of tropical freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami family found in Southeast Asia. Gouramis of the genus ''Trichopodus'' are closely related to those of ''Trichogaster'' (form ...

'' Lacepède, 1801 ***** ''

Betta ''Betta'' is a large genus of small, active, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes, in the gourami family (biology), family (Osphronemidae). The best known ''Betta'' species is ''B. splendens,'' commonly known as the Siamese fighting f ...

'' Bleeker, 1850 ***** ''

Parosphromenus ''Parosphromenus'' is a genus of gouramies native to freshwater in Southeast Asia. All species are highly specialized peat swamp inhabitants native to southeast Asia, and the males are usually brightly colored in breeding dress; however, their ne ...

'' Bleeker, 1877 ***** ''

Macropodus ''Macropodus'' is a genus of small to medium-sized labyrinth fish native to freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. Most species are restricted to southern China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and Vietnam, but ''M. opercularis'' occurs as far nort ...

'' Lacepède, 1801 ***** ''

Malpulutta The ornate paradisefish (''Malpulutta kretseri'') or spotted gourami, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the only recognized species in its genus. It inhabits shallow, slow-flowing streams in forested areas shaded with plentiful ...

'' Deraniyagala, 1937 ***** ''

Pseudosphromenus ''Pseudosphromenus'' is a genus of medium-small gouramies native to south and southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions tha ...

'' Bleeker, 1879 ***** ''

Trichopsis ''Trichopsis'' is a genus of gouramies native to Southeast Asia. Species There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * '' Trichopsis pumila'' ( J. P. Arnold, 1936) (Pygmy gourami) * '' Trichopsis schalleri'' Ladiges, 1962 (Three ...

'' Canestrini, 1860 ** Suborder Channoidei Berg, 1940 *** Family Aenigmachannidae Britz ''et al.'', 2020 **** '' Aenigmachanna''

Britz Britz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Neukölln. History The village of ''Britzig'' was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the sit ...

, Anoop, Dahanukar &

Raghavan Raghavan is a South Indian name. It derives from the Sanskrit ''raghava'', meaning "derived from Raghu" or "descendant of Raghu" (an epithet of the Hindu god Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu), plus the Tamil-Malayalam third-person masculine singular ...

, 2019 *** Family

Channidae The snakeheads are members of the freshwater perciform fish family Channidae, native to parts of Africa and Asia. These elongated, predatory fish are distinguished by their long dorsal fins, large mouths, and shiny teeth. They breathe air with ...

Fowler, 1934 ****†'' Anchichanna'' Murray & Thewissen, 2008 (one species) **** †'' Eochanna'' Roe, 1991 ****'' Parachanna'' Teugels & Daget, 1984 ****''

Channa ''Channa'' is a genus of predatory fish in the Family (biology), family Channidae, commonly known as snakeheads, native to freshwater habitats in Asia. This genus contains about 50 Binomial nomenclature, scientifically described species. The gen ...

Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Au ...

, 1777 **Suborder Nandoidei Bleeker, 1852 *** Family Nandidae Bleeker, 1852 **** '' Nandus''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1831 *** Family

Badidae The Badidae, or the chameleonfishes, are a small family (containing about 30 species) of freshwater ray-finned fish in the order Anabantiformes. Their relationship to other members of the order was previously uncertain, with the 5th edition of '' ...

Barlow, Liem & Wickler, 1968 **** '' Badis'' Bleeker, 1853 **** ''

Dario Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name * Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper * Dario Bellezza ...

'' Kullander &

, 2002 *** Family Pristolepididae Regan, 1913 **** ?†'' Palaeopristolepis'' Borkar, 1973 **** '' Pristolepis'' Jerdon, 1849

Alternative systematics

Phylogeny

Below shows the phylogenetic relationships among the Anabantiform families after Collins et al. (2015), here including the Nandoidei as Anabantiforms:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1744606