''Barbodes sellifer'', the saddled barb, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a Family (biology), family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barb (fish), barbs and barbel (fish), barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

described in 2021. This species has not been reported sold 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, but where the species is present reports of them being kept by aquarists are abundant. Previously thought to be a variant of ''

Barbodes banksi ''Barbodes'' is a genus of small to medium-sized cyprinid fish native to tropical Asia. The majority of the species are from Southeast Asia. Many species are threatened and some from the Philippines (Lake Lanao) are already extinct. A survey carr ...

'', it and '' B. zakariaismaili'' were recently removed from ''B. banksi'' due to its unique color pattern and morphological differences that set it apart from other species of its genus.

Etymology

Sellifer is a Latin adjective meaning 'bearing a saddle'.

Description

Similar to other of its genus, the overall body coloration is dark yellowish brown, while the back of the fish is darker, and its underside paler. The feature that distinguishes the species is the 'saddle' on its back, a rectangular or triangular black blotch under the dorsal fin that occupies 4–6 scales and stretches down to the fourth lateral scale line. This black pattern can appear pale or darker depending on the environment.

Distribution

It is found in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the

Malay Peninsular The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and parts of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. However, the population at

Bangka Island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

is small, and there is an effort to breed them in captivity to increase the island population.

Habitat

It prefers clear forest streams and pools, but is quite adaptable to other habitats like large rivers, lakes, and even swamps. This species can sometimes be spotted intermingling with '' Barbodes lateristriga'' (spanner barb), '' Barbodes dunckeri'' (clown barb) and '' Rasbora elegans'' (two-spot rasbora).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q116489139 Cyprinid fish of Asia Fish described in 2021 sellifer