The red-backed paradise fish (''Macropodus erythropterus'') is a 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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to streams in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. This species grows to a

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

of , and it is sometimes seen in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade.

Range and habitat

The red-backed paradise fish is endemic to central Vietnam, where only known from the Quang Tri River, a part of the Giang River basin. Here it inhabits hill streams in areas with submerged roots and overhanging vegetation.

Taxonomy

This species cannot be reliably separated from '' M. hongkongensis'', '' M. opercularis'' and '' M. spechti'' by

meristics Meristics is an area of zoology and botany which relates to counting quantitative features of animals and plants, such as the number of fins or scales in fish. A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species, or used to i ...

and

morphometrics Morphometrics (from Greek μορΦή ''morphe'', "shape, form", and -μετρία ''metria'', "measurement") or morphometry refers to the quantitative analysis of ''form'', a concept that encompasses size and shape. Morphometric analyses are co ...

.Winstanley, Tom, and Kendall D. Clements. "Morphological re-examination and taxonomy of the genus Macropodus (Perciformes, Osphronemidae)." Zootaxa 19.8 (2008): 1-27. It differs from the first two in colouration, but the validity of the generally recognised colour differences between ''M. erythropterus'' and ''M. spechti'' (the latter lacking red in the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

anal Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...

and tail fins) is questionable and a review of specimens in 2008 found that it was not reliable. As a consequence, some authorities have recommended considering ''M. erythropterus'' as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''M. spechti''. The 2008 study did not include specimens from the type locality of ''M. erythropterus'', leading others to reject the results and continue to recognise it as a valid species, although noting the need for further studies.Kottelat, M. (2013). The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663. According to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, the validity of ''M. erythropterus'' as a species require confirmation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:fish, paradise, red-backed red-backed paradise fish Endemic fauna of Vietnam Fish of Vietnam red-backed paradise fish Taxa named by Jörg Freyhof Taxa named by Fabian Herder