''Betta andrei'' 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), ...

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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

. It is a black water fighting fish that is endemic to Singkep Island, Indonesia. It was described in 2023 by Heok Hui Tan, who named it after Andre Chandra, a fish collector and enthusiast who helped him during his fieldwork.Tan HH (2023). "A new black water fighting fish of the genus Betta (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Singkep Island, Indonesia". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 71: 23–29.

Description

''Betta andrei'' belongs to the '' Betta waseri'' group, which consists of nine other species of betta fish that live in acidic water habitats. ''B. andrei'' has a distinctive throat pattern, which is black and pitcher-shaped, unlike any other known member of its group. It also has a yellowish-brown body with iridescent scales and faint black bars on its fins. The males have longer fins than the females, especially the caudal fin, which is rounded in shape. The males also have more intense coloration than the females.

Distribution and habitat

''Betta andrei'' is only known from a small stream on Singkep Island, Indonesia. The stream is surrounded by peat swamp forest and has dark brown water with a pH of 4.5. The water temperature ranges from 24 to 26 °C (75 to 79 °F). The substrate consists of sand, leaf litter, and fallen branches. ''Betta andrei'' shares its habitat with other fish species such as '' Rasbora einthovenii'', ''

Rasbora trilineata ''Rasbora trilineata'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Rasbora''. Common names include scissortail rasbora and three-lined rasbora. It comes from Southeast Asia. Its length is up to 15 cm (6"). Aquarium In the wild, ''Rasbora tril ...

'', '' Pangio shelfordii'', and '' Channa gachua''.

Conservation

''Betta andrei'' is not evaluated by the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

, but it may be threatened by habitat loss and degradation due to deforestation, agriculture, mining, and human settlement. It may also be affected by overcollection for the aquarium trade, as it is a rare and beautiful fish that may attract collectors. Betta andrei is not protected by any law or regulation in

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, ...

References

Fish described in 2023

andrei Andrei, Andrey or Andrej (in Cyrillic script: Андрэй, Андрей or Андреј) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: * Andrei of Polotsk (–1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

Freshwater fish of Indonesia Taxa named by Heok Hui Tan {{Anabantiformes-stub